Twitter began on Thursday, April 20, to eliminate the verified symbol from thousands of users who have not joined the Twitter Blue program.
Neither the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, the singer Justin Bieber, nor Pope Francis were spared.
The owner of the social network, Elon Musk, who paid US$44 billion for the company in October 2022, had promised to get rid of the blue symbol, which he even described as a system that differentiated users between “nobles and vassals.”
As an alternative, the billionaire started selling the label to anyone paying US$8 a month for the Twitter Blue program, a move that Musk said last year “will democratize journalism and empower people’s voices.”
Today, thousands of profiles with wide public recognition, such as those of celebrities and politicians, and other media organizations, have appeared without the verification symbol.
The seal has disappeared from profiles of celebrities such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, and many journalists, academics, and activists.
Even the account of social network founder Jack Dorsey is without the blue seal.
Elon Musk’s account remains “verified”.
Now, only those who subscribe to the Twitter Blue program will be able to have the verified symbol, whose color changes according to the nature of the profile, as well as other benefits, such as writing longer tweets or posting videos and editing publications within 30 minutes.
With information from Jovem Pan