Elon Musk wants to call off his deal to buy Twitter.
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“Verified” badges for users may soon become a paid feature of Twitter, sources told Platformer.
Sources said there were internal talks of making verification a Twitter Blue feature following Musk’s takeover.
The Verge reported Twitter Blue may charge as much as $19.99 for the verification-tier subscription.
Following Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, several outlets reported the self-declared anti-advertising “Chief Twit” may soon launch a new method to generate revenue on the social platform by making users pay for their verification badges.
Sources familiar with the matter told Platformer, a newsletter created by Casey Newton, a former editor of The Verge, that Twitter executives spent the weekend discussing a possible change to the social platform where users would have to pay to subscribe to Twitter Blue or lose their badges.
Twitter Blue, a $4.99 monthly subscription, launched last year as the platform’s premium offering, giving users access to new features like customizable app icons, the ability to undo or bookmark tweets, and a “reader mode” to more easily view long threads of posts. A verification-tier subscription may cost as much as $19.99 per month, The Verge reported.
Currently only available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Twitter Blue’s launch has struggled with niche appeal and limited features — but linking verification to the subscription fee could bolster its popularity. Should Twitter require payment for its verified status, it would be the first major American social media app to do so, as most platforms offer the feature for free.
The current verification process, which Musk has previously described as “like if Kafka had a Magic 8-Ball,” has long been decried as being an “elitist” status, with narrow eligibility requirements sometimes considered biased against average users. Tying verification to the paid subscription model would establish clearer criteria for getting a badge, as well as generate additional revenue for the social media platform.
Though the move has not been finalized, sources told Platformer, Musk has in the past posted about how he hates advertising, and in his takeover pitch to investors pledged to cut the platform’s reliance on ad revenue and increase the average revenue per user.
Musk and representatives for Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.