To verify someone’s status, Twitter grants people a blue check adjacent to their username. This verification method appears popular amongst other social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Wednesday, April 26, Twitter started removing verification marks from accounts that failed to pay the $8 monthly fee for its subscription program.

“People are constantly impersonating popular icons like Addison Rae on Instagram and Twitter. I feel like it’s even more dangerous on Twitter because that’s a platform where people normally voice their opinions and raw thoughts. So, verification is needed so people won’t get attention if they’re spreading false information,” junior Nijah Jones said.

The symbol once used for reliability has caused anger on the platform. If someone created a post on Twitter, the audience would know it legitimately came from that person rather than an impersonating account by seeing the blue check. Now people feel as if Twitter has become less trustworthy thanks to Elon Musk. The blue check’s purpose never involved revenue, it simply addressed a problem on social media. 

Before Musk took over the company, Twitter Blue existed as a subscription service for limited markets. As soon as Musk took over the platform in October of 2023, he changed the subscription service and altered the meaning of the blue check. This means one could not spot the difference between a blue check for verification purposes and a blue check for for-profit purposes.

“Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I’ve barely used the app. He made drastic changes that don’t even make the app interesting anymore. I feel like the app has lost originality. With the removal of the blue check, he’s making everything worse and less enjoyable for users,” Jones said.

The change in verification appears as Musk’s most prominent effect on Twitter since he bought it last year. Information on the platform, once considered indispensable for following breaking news, has become unreliable. And for users who rely on Twitter to follow celebrities or other figures, the verification change will make prominent users less visible because they declined to pay to keep their check marks.

Other problems also appear that question Musk’s leadership and political profile.  If a person purchases the subscriptions he or she will seem a part of Musk’s corporate leadership, making the subscription a public act rather than a private purchase. Moreover, the subscription appears as users allied with Musk’s irresponsible decisions.