The firm announced another policy reversal, offering users with large followings a free subscription to X, formerly Twitter, along with the platform’s recognizable blue check.
Prior to Musk, prominent accounts such as those of celebrities, organizations, and journalists used the blue checkmark as a verification mechanism.
Musk, however, changed the blue checks to only go to paying subscribers because he thought the method was unjust to regular users. As a result, thousands of holders lost access to the service.
Some users were shocked some even furious to learn that the blue tick had been restored late on Wednesday.
A message from the platform explained that they were given free subscriptions because they were an “influential member” of X.
Furthermore, it said on the website that it “reserves the right to cancel the complimentary subscription in its sole discretion.”
Musk indicated last week that “going forward, all X accounts with over 2,500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5,000 will get Premium+ for free.”
Benefits of upgrading to Premium or Premium+ include access to Grok, X’s AI chatbot, as well as fewer advertisements and better positioning in the platform’s feeds.
Some users who received the blue check interpreted it as an attempt by Musk to breathe new life into the beleaguered platform.
Interpretation: What’s $8? Just kidding. Aid me. However, please refrain from making too many gratuitous remarks about me or my Garbage Tower of Babel,” actor Jeffrey Wright wrote on X.
Following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022, the platform’s advertising revenue has plummeted as advertisers lost faith in his leadership and the company’s widespread layoffs that severely damaged content moderation.
In an attempt to support advertising revenue, which continues to be the site’s primary source of money, X named industry veteran Kylie McRoberts as the new head of safety on Tuesday.
The majority of industry-accepted measures show that X has lost users since Musk assumed ownership, although the business claims that site activity has increased.
