Individuals with significant followings will now receive a complimentary subscription to X, formerly known as Twitter, along with the platform’s iconic blue checkmark, the company announced in a recent policy reversal.
Historically, the blue checkmark served as a verification badge for prominent accounts, including celebrities, institutions, and journalists. However, Elon Musk perceived the system as unjust to ordinary users and modified the blue checks to be exclusively available to paying subscribers, resulting in thousands of users losing their verification status.
Late Wednesday, certain users were surprised—and in some cases, frustrated—to discover the reinstatement of their blue tick.
In a notification from the platform, these users were informed that they received complimentary subscriptions due to their status as influential members of X. However, the platform clarified that it retains the right to revoke these complimentary subscriptions at its discretion.
Last week, Musk announced that moving forward, all X accounts with over 2,500 verified subscriber followers would receive Premium features for free, while accounts with over 5,000 would enjoy Premium+ benefits at no cost.
Premium and Premium+ perks encompass reduced advertisements, enhanced visibility in the platform’s feeds, and access to Grok, X’s AI chatbot.
Some recipients of the blue checkmark interpreted it as Musk’s effort to rejuvenate the struggling platform.
Actor Jeffrey Wright, who received an unsolicited blue check, humorously commented, “Translation: Pay $8? Kidding. Help me. But don’t say anything too free speechy about me or my Garbage Tower of Babel,” in a post on X.
Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, the platform’s advertising business has faltered, with marketers expressing dissatisfaction with his leadership and the extensive layoffs that significantly impacted content moderation.
In an attempt to bolster advertising revenue—still the platform’s primary income source—X recently appointed company veteran Kylie McRoberts as the new head of safety.
While industry-standard metrics suggest a decline in X’s user base since Musk assumed ownership, the company asserts that activity on the platform has increased.
