Online storm: Celebrities left unverified due to new Twitter Blue policy

Musk's new measures have been rolled out

On Thursday, April 21, 2023, Elon Musk's Twitter company removed all blue verification checkmarks given to accounts run by notable people and organizations as part of its attempt to get more people to sign up for the new subscription service, Twitter Blue. Twitter had earlier noted that the blue checkmark would only be available for accounts that pay $8 each month. 

The blue tick is used to differentiate the actual accounts of celebrities from the many fan-made and fake accounts made in their name. However, ever since Musk took over, chaos has ensued, with unverified individuals signing up for Twitter Blue and imitating prominent personalities and organizations. While policies were allegedly put in place to address the same, this new blow of losing the verified badge does little to placate celebrities. 

This move has resulted in many prominent names losing their blue ticks. For example, RRR star Ram has joined a long list of celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Virat Kohli, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Rahul Gandhi, to lose the coveted blue tick on their Twitter accounts. Twitter active celebrities such as cricketers M S Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, fiction writer Chetan Bhagat, and South heavyweight Rajnikanth, lost their blue ticks because they did not pay for the subscription service.

The other Naatu Naatu star, Jr NTR, or Tarak, and the director of RRR, SS Rajamouli still have their blue ticks indicating that they might have paid Musk's fee. The star of Baahubali, Rana Daggubati, has a blue tick as well. South actors like Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nayantara also lost their blue ticks. Even superstar Chiranjeevi, Charan's father, and Arjun's uncle, who joined Twitter during the pandemic, lost his blue tick status. So did his Tamil counterpart Kamal Hassan, who came back with a bang to the silver screens with the recent superhit Vikram late last year.

Many Pakistani stars have lost their blue ticks as well. Stars like Mahira Khan, Fahad Mustafa, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Asim Azhar, Humayun Saeed, Mawra Hocane, and Mehwish Hayat apparently have not subscribed to Twitter Blue as yet, losing their verified status. Other stars, like Shehzad Roy, Shaniera Akram, Shoaib Malik, Osman Khalid Butt, Kubra Khan, Bilal Ashraf, and Armeena Khan also lost their blue ticks. 

Surprisingly, the former premier of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has also lost his verified status on Twitter. Nobel Prize laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai is no longer verified as well. Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif have also lost their blue ticks. Some prominent names, such as Hareem Farooq, Jemima Goldsmith, Waseem Badami, and Bilal Lashari have retained their blue ticks because of their subscription to Twitter Blue. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif retains a grey tick on his account.

Many international leading names lost their blue ticks as well, including the Pope, celebrity TV host Oprah Winfrey, and singer Beyonce. Interestingly, Musk personally paid for the blue ticks of three celebrities: Star Trek's William Shatner, author Stephen King, and basketball legend LeBron James. King, who has been criticizing the verification payment, insisted that "it's a matter of principle." Prominent figures from the UK, including Ricky Gervais, Prince William and Princess Kate have also lost their blue ticks.

Other notable celebrities still have their blue ticks on display, such as Snoop Dogg, Cardi B, Joe and Nick Jonas, Shawn Mendes, David Guetta, and Chance the Rapper. Hollywood actors like Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Hemsworth, and Dwayne Johnson still have their blue ticks. Celebrities in the music industry, including Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Britney Spears, and The Weeknd, seem to have subscribed to Twitter Blue. Their account verification badges are still intact.

An analysis by independent researcher Travis Brown suggested that only about 4.4% of Twitter's legacy verified accounts had subscribed to Twitter Blue so far. As the policy continues to roll out, it is likely that the verified status for many will change, depending on their decision to subscribe to Twitter Blue.

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