On Thursday, Twitter started to remove the blue tick verification from thousands of accounts, including those belonging to prominent figures like Pope Francis, Davido, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Wizkid,Fireboy DML, Beyonce; (media organizations and many more)
Kenyan journalist Larry Madowo, who had previously vowed to never pay for verification has also lost his blue badge.
The deadline to sign up for verification had been pushed back several times, but Twitter is now enforcing the removal as owner Elon Musk works to make the platform profitable.
To retain the verification badge beside their name, users will need to subscribe to Twitter Blue for $8 per month or $84 per year. This move is part of Twitter’s efforts to restructure and generate revenue.