Pay US$ 84 a year for Twitter Blue or lose checkmark beginning April 1: Twitter

CNN: Twitter’s free blue “verified” checkmarks for notable users may finally be coming to an end.
Ever since Elon Musk took control of the company in October, he’s been threatening to remove the “legacy” checkmarks that confirmed the identities of users like government officials, corporations, journalists, celebrities and other high-profile tweeters.

Now Musk may follow through: “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified programme and removing legacy verified checkmarks,” the company wrote in a tweet Thursday. 

A caveat, however: Twitter says this policy will go into effect starting on April Fool’s Day. Musk in particular has been known for April 1 trolling, including in 2018 when he falsely tweeted that his electric vehicle company Tesla (TSLA) had gone bankrupt.

“To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue,” the company’s tweet continued.
Twitter Blue is a subscription service that Musk relaunched late last year that costs individuals US$ 84 a year or US$ 8 a month. Charging fees provides a revenue stream for Twitter — and a needed one, as Twitter currently collects virtually all of its revenue from advertisers, who have been fleeing the social media platform since he took over.