Twitter Restores Blue Tick For Users Having These Many Followers: Report

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New Delhi: On Sunday, when they logged into their Twitter accounts, a number of celebrities from the worlds of politics, entertainment, and sports would have been in for a surprise. The popular blue tick will be restored for many of them for no charge if they had one million or more followers, according to the social networking site. Even if some or all of them hadn't paid for subscriptions, the action was nonetheless carried out.

Among the notable Indians who had their blue checkmarks back were Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Amitabh Bachchan. It's interesting to note that a few followers who are no longer alive, including Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman, also received their blue ticks back. ()

It should also be mentioned that Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, does not yet have the blue badge next to his profile despite having 6.5 million followers on the social media site.

The blue checkmarks from various accounts, including those of the government, celebrities, business people, and politicians, were removed by Twitter on Thursday. ()

Individual user accounts for the Twitter subscription service cost Rs 650 per month on the web and Rs 900 per month on mobile devices in India.

Other companies and brands had to sign up for the more expensive "Verified for Organisations" programme, whose monthly subscription started at Rs 82,300. These accounts would receive a square avatar and a gold checkmark.

Several well-known individuals, including LeBron James and Stephen King, had declined to pay for the blue ticks, but Elon Musk acknowledged that he would personally cover their subscription costs.

Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter in October 2022. He called the certification process a "lords and peasants system" and said that the way the blue checkmarks were distributed was "corrupt and nonsensical."