The removal of Twitter's Blue Tick has become a hot topic, with several high-profile individuals, including celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, losing their verified status. The blue tick has also been removed from many prominent political figures, including Eknath Shinde, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Starting yesterday, Twitter has begun to remove the blue ticks of verified accounts that were obtained for free. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's blue tick has been removed, whereas Devendra Fadnavis's blue tick remains intact. Shrikant Shinde, the chief minister's son and MP, still has his blue tick.
Not only politicians but celebrities from the entertainment and sports industries have also been impacted by this decision. The verified status or blue tick has been removed from the accounts of prominent personalities like former Indian cricket captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, as well as Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Alia Bhatt.
Elon Musk recently announced that from April 20, Twitter would remove blue ticks from all verified accounts, and only those who pay for the service will have the privilege of using it. As a result, the blue tick was removed from all such accounts at midnight on Thursday. Twitter has now set the monthly fee at $8 for those paying from the website and $11 for those paying through the mobile app.
In 2009, Twitter introduced the blue tick feature to differentiate between verified accounts of prominent figures such as celebrities, politicians, news organizations, and major corporations from fake accounts. Over time, this feature was extended to other users as well. Twitter did not charge any fee for this service. However, now users have to pay to get the blue tick as Twitter has changed its policy.