Elon Musk has acknowledged that he is paying for certain high-profile Twitter accounts to keep their blue verification badges, as Twitter initiated a purge that removed verified status from many famous personalities, including Beyoncé, Ronaldo, Paul McCartney, Wizkid, Davido, Peter Obi, Tinubu, and others. Twitter’s owner confirmed the move after it was discovered that writer Stephen King, actor William Shatner, and basketball star LeBron James had kept their badges despite not subscribing to Twitter Blue, the platform’s paid service. On Thursday, Musk followed through with a longstanding threat to remove the blue badge from roughly 400,000 verified accounts unless they subscribed to Blue, which costs at least $8 per month in the United States, £9.60 in the United Kingdom, and A$13 in Australia.
NEWS: Some celebrities have been offered a complimentary Twitter Blue subscription ‘on behalf of Elon Musk.’
— T(w)itter Daily News (@TitterDaily) April 20, 2023
