Twitter Blue Verified Badges Delayed During US Midterm Elections: Report
Twitter is delaying the release of verification marks for subscribers of its new $8 (roughly Rs. 660) a month service until after Tuesday’s midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US mid-term elections on Tuesday will decide whether the Republicans or the Democrats of President Joe Biden will control Congress.
The changes to Twitter’s verification process came a week after Elon Musk took over the social media company for $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,61,700 crore). On Saturday, Twitter updated its app on Apple’s App Store to start charging $8 (roughly Rs. 660) for blue check verification marks.
On Sunday, Twitter released an update to its iOS app that introduced the new Twitter Blue subscription that new owner and CEO Elon Musk has been promoting in his tweets. The change in the update said that Twitter Blue subscribers will automatically receive a blue tag badge on their profiles, which was previously only given to verified accounts of companies, celebrities, and public figures.
Meanwhile, the price of Twitter Blue has gone up to $7.99 (roughly Rs. 660) per month in the US from $4.99 (roughly Rs. 400), and Musk has indicated that this will be discounted in purchases power in other countries.
According to the iOS app update release notes, the new ‘Twitter Blue with verification’ will be available first in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Twitter recently laid off 50 percent of its workforce, including employees on the safety and security team, the company’s head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth said on Twitter earlier this week.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Musk ordered Twitter teams to find up to $1 billion (about Rs. 8,200 crore) in annual infrastructure cost savings.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
