X, the former Twitter, lets users hide once-vaunted blue check

X, the former Twitter, lets users hide once-vaunted blue check

A coveted status symbol at Twitter before Elon Musk bought the company, the blue checks have been mocked by some as a sign that the user is willing to pay for special treatment
A coveted status symbol at Twitter before Elon Musk bought the company, the blue checks have been mocked by some as a sign that the user is willing to pay for special treatment. Photo: Chris Delmas / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Briefly News launched a YouTube channel Briefly TV. Subscribe now!

Users on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will now be allowed to hide their once-prized blue check marks, the company says.

A coveted status symbol at Twitter before Elon Musk bought the company, the blue checks have been mocked by some as a sign that the user is willing to pay for special treatment.

"As a subscriber, you can choose to hide your checkmark on your account," an X help page said on Wednesday.

"The checkmark will be hidden on your profile and posts."

Blue ticks, long free at Twitter, were intended to signal the identity of certain users -- such as journalists, celebrities and politicians -- had been verified in an effort to build trust in the platform.

But Musk decried that as a "lords & peasants system," and opened up access to the check marks to anyone who paid for a Blue subscription -- an $8 per month program which gives users access to other special features as well.

Read also

Meta starts blocking news in Canada

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!

He quickly put the program on a temporary hold after problems with people buying tick marks and impersonating high-profile personalities, including the tycoon himself.

In April, the eccentric billionaire then followed through with a long-promised move to strip free blue ticks from Twitter users.

Some praised the move as egalitarian while others decried it as being shaken down for money to safeguard their status on the platform.

Wordsmith Stephen King, who had previously vowed he would never cough up, even telling Musk that Twitter should instead be paying him to post, appeared horrified to discover that he still had his blue check.

Musk said in response to a news article about the check marks at the time that he was "paying for a few personally," and replied to King's message with "You're welcome namaste."

Read also

X sues hate speech tracker over Twitter reports

Word that X Blue subscribers can try to hide that fact prompted one user to fire off a post contending that Musk "destroyed a decade old symbol of trust and turned it into a mark of shame."

A post from the X account @ianvisits said that "Blue ticks are now so toxic that you can hide the fact that you have one."

Other paid-for features, such as posts longer 280 characters, may still allow other users to identify a Blue subscriber even if their blue tick has been hidden.

"The checkmark may still appear in some places and some features could still reveal you have an active subscription," X said at its help page.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.