X owner Elon Musk is offering premium features for free to some of the social network's most popular users, including the once-coveted blue verification checkmark.
Last week, Musk promised to start distributing free features to people with 2,500 or more verified followers. This week, several users noticed the blue checkmark reappearing on their profiles.
Some users who got the blue checkmark this week were confused as to how they got there, and the company sent out a notice to some users explaining the change. Typically, accounts must pay a premium monthly subscription to X to receive the blue badge. The blue badge was used by Twitter's old management to distinguish and identify prominent users.
This is a change in strategy for Musk, who has criticized the former Twitter's decision to give checkmarks to prominent accounts. Mr. Musk called his strategy the “lords and peasants” system, and immediately after taking over the company, he removed all the traditional blue checkmarks and instead required people to pay.
Now, 18 months after officially taking over, he's adding another page to the old company's playbook. A spokesperson declined to comment. — (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP