Twitter Blue checks are not planned to be paid for by news outlets, athletes, celebs or the White House.

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• Numerous news outlets and prominent Twitter users have stated that they do not plan to pay for Twitter Blue.
• Twitter had previously stated plans to remove "legacy" checks beginning April 1.
• The "legacy" checks appeared to be active on the platform as of Saturday afternoon.

Numerous news outlets, celebrities and athletes have stated that they do not plan to pay for Twitter blue once the platform's "legacy” blue checks are gone.

Twitter announced last week that it was "winding down" its program, previously called by Elon Musk "deeply corrupted," and would remove the checks from April 1. However, as Saturday afternoon approached, the old checks were still active so their future remains uncertain.

An ex-Twitter employee wrote a series tweets Friday describing why moving to all paid verified accounts is dangerous and how it could lead to the loss of some of the platform's most prominent names, who have been posting for free for many years.

For $8 per month, individuals can subscribe to Twitter Blue. Twitter offers Verified Organizations, a program that provides a gold check to businesses and allows them to be associated with other accounts related with their business for an incredible $1,000 per month.

According to reports, businesses were apprehensive and critical of the proposal. Later, the New York Times reported that an internal Twitter document stated that the top 500 advertisers and the 10,000 most-followed companies would be able keep their checks without having to pay a high fee.

Many news organizations have stated that they do not plan to pay for the check. Other news outlets don't intend to reimburse journalists who paid for Twitter Blue. They mainly claim that blue checks, which only represent $8 per user, no longer give the same credibility as they used to, CNN reports.

According to the cable news channel, it will not be paying. They cited internal memos from Politico, BuzzFeed and Washington Post that indicated the outlets would not pay for the gold check or for staff to keep their blue checks.

Axios reported Friday by staff that the White House had informed them that it would not pay individuals to keep their blue checks. This means that the Biden administration will likely send information through its official government accounts, which feature gray, non-paid, checkmarks.

Twitter didn't immediately respond to a request to comment on whether plans to eliminate the checks had changed. Elon Musk recently revised Twitter's media communication policy.

Public figures from media, entertainment, and sports all began to speculate about whether or not they would keep the blue check.

LeBron James, the NBA's most frugal superstar, said Friday afternoon that he would add it to his list of luxuries that he doesn't indulge in like ad free music.

–LeBron James (@KingJames), March 31, 2023

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs' star quarterback, has been too busy celebrating his Super Bowl win over Philadelphia Eagles to be aware of the most recent Twitter news.

–Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes), March 31, 2023

Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles and Pro Bowl cornerback, seemed relieved by the change. He also noted that angry fans could accidentally criticize someone with a similar name if he makes an error.

–Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay), March 31, 2023

Jason Alexander, the famous actor who played George Costanza in the sitcom "Seinfeld", stated earlier this week that he does not plan to pay Twitter and that he will likely leave the platform after the checks have cleared.

–jason alexander (@IJasonAlexander) March 28, 2023

A simpler story: Actor and comedian Ben Stiller took what he thought would be his last night with blue checks to enjoy the New York Knicks victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

–Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) April 1, 2023

Dionne Warwick, a music legend, has stated that she won't pay for paid Twitter features. She also said Friday night that she had better uses for her money.

–Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick), March 31, 2023

Jemele Hill, a podcaster and writer, cited James' tweet to illustrate how big users are being driven away by paid-only checks. She indicated that she would likely follow her example.

–Jemele Hill (@jemelehill), March 31, 2023

Journalists and other legacy check holders joked about their last night with their checks, pretending to be others, and laughing at their own expense.

–David Mackau (@davidmackau), March 31, 2023

–Rebecca Bitton (@rebeinstein) April 1, 2023

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By: amcdade@insider.com (Aaron McDade)
Title: News outlets, athletes, celebs — and the White House — don’t plan to pay for Twitter Blue checks
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/athletes-celebrities-white-house-wont-pay-twitter-blue-2023-4
Published Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2023 20:17:49 +0000

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