Twitter has reinstated verification badges on some high-profile celebrity accounts with millions of followers, just days after the microblogging network removed the iconic blue tick marks for non-paying users.
This week, Indian celebrities and top politicians ranging from Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lost verified blue ticks on their Twitter accounts after Elon Musk’s microblogging site began removing tick icons from accounts that did not pay a subscription fee.
The coveted blue ticks have recently made a surprising comeback on these celebs’ pages. Top cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, who had lost their blue tick marks on their Twitter usernames, got them back. It was unclear whether these accounts paid for the verification right away.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who regained his blue tick on Twitter, stated that he did not pay for it. “Apparently, I’ve paid for Twitter Blue and provided them with a phone number to verify, but I haven’t.” “Are you paying for mine as well, Mr. Musk?” Abdullah posted a tweet.
Malala Yousafzai turned to Twitter to express her surprise and joy at the restoration of the blue tick. “I’m not sure what happened, but I’m happy to have my blue tick back so everyone knows I’m still Malala,” she said on Twitter. While there has been no official confirmation from Twitter on the reinstatement of blue ticks, the company is apparently reinstating verified status for accounts with a large number of followers.
Twitter began removing the tick mark from the accounts of thousands of celebrities, politicians, and journalists earlier this week, which has for years signalled that Twitter had confirmed the identity of the individual behind an account. As a result, some of the largest and most well-known personalities lost the blue check mark on their Twitter usernames.
However, certain high-profile individuals, like American novelist Stephen King, US professional basketball star LeBron James, and renowned actor William Shatner, were able to keep their blue ticks after Musk said that he would pay for these accounts himself.
