Twitter will remove the blue verification badge from verified accounts prior to the Elon Musk acquisition, unless they have signed up for Twitter Blue or the plan for verified organizations.

Previously, Musk had already declared Twitter’s old verification system “corrupted” and introduced the option to purchase blue checkmarks through payment plans.

With the arrival of Twitter Blue, Twitter changed the wording of the description of legacy verified accounts to say that they “may or may not be notable” after Musk took office. In November, the company launched this modality under subscription, with the verification mark as one of the premium benefits. However, it suspended registrations after two days when a rush of users created fake and parody accounts that appeared to be “verified.” The company relaunched Twitter Blue the following month with new measures designed to prevent impersonators, and access is now available globally.

Twitter’s old verification system will be removed

The social network advertisement that starting April 1, it will remove blue checkmark status from accounts that were verified prior to the Musk acquisition, unless they subscribed to Twitter Blue or the business-focused Twitter Verified Organizations plan.

Twitter first introduced verified accounts in 2009, to help users identify celebrities, politicians, companies and brands, news organizations, and other “public interest” accounts as genuine, not fake or spoof accounts. The company previously did not charge for verification.

Twitter’s old verification system was described as “corrupted” by Musk

Twitter’s old verification system was described as “corrupted” by Elon Musk. The platform owner opened blue checkmarks for any paying customer, which means that anyone could get a blue checkmark.

Musk claimed that there are too many corrupt legacy blue “verify” checkmarks out there and there was no choice but to remove the badge over the next few months. Before Musk’s switch, Twitter had more than 420,000 verified accounts.

Twitter changed wording for legacy verified accounts

Twitter changed the wording of the description of legacy verified accounts to say that they “may or may not be notable” after Musk took office. In November, two weeks after Musk closed the deal with Twitter, the company launched Twitter Blue with the verification mark as one of the premium benefits. But after two days, it suspended registrations when a flood of users created fake and parody accounts that appeared to be “verified.” The company relaunched Twitter Blue the following month with new measures designed to prevent impersonators.