Twitter Blue Tick restored on high-profile accounts, Musk-Stephen King squabble
The microblogging platform has been beset with chaos ever since it stripped non-paying accounts of their legacy blue ticks on April 20
On April 20, Elon Musk kept his promise of stripping non-paying Twitter accounts of their verified Blue Tick. Many celebs lost their badges that day as Twitter erupted in confusion. Names like Shah Rukh Khan, Virat Kohli, Anand Mahindra, Yogi Adityanath, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Salman Khan, Rahul Gandhi and Amitabh Bachchan were some of the big names that lose their verified checkmark that day.
A few days later, many celebrity accounts like those of Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Arvind Kejriwal got their blue ticks restored, but others insisted that they got their verified badges back even though they never paid for the subscription.
Twitter accounts of deceased celebrities like basketball legend Kobe Bryant, food critic Anthony Bourdain, popstar Michael Jackson, journalist Jamal Khashoggi and former PM of Japan Shinzo Abe also got their verified marks back, leaving many in confusion.
Speculations are rife whether accounts with a million followers were automatically getting their verified status restored. Those were debunked when some celeb accounts like that of Ryan Reynolds with over 20 million subscribers were still seen without the badge.
Writer Stephen King took to Twitter to say that he never lost his verified badge despite not paying for the service.
Musk replied to the tweet saying that he has personally paid for King’s blue tick, adding: “You’re welcome. Namaste.”
King was far from stoked by Musk’s gesture and instead chose to school the Tesla CEO about donating the amount to Ukraine: “I think Mr. Musk should give my blue check to charity. I recommend the Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. It’s only $8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could add a bit more.”
Musk delivered the finishing zinger by telling King that he has, in fact, already donated $100 million to the Ukraine cause. At this point, King conceded with a tweet: "Musk has given $100 million to Ukrainian charities. Excellent. Slava Ukraini!"
