Musk announces Twitter will begin charging $8/month for blue check verification

Twitter Inc. will charge $8 a month for its Blue service, which includes its sought-after “verified badge”, new CEO Musk said as he seeks to boost subscriptions and make the micro-blogging service less reliant on ads.

Elon Musk in a tweet said "Twitter's current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.” He added that the price will be adjusted by nation proportionate to purchasing power parity.

A Twitter’s blue check mark next to a person’s user name on the service means the firm has confirmed that the account belongs to the company or person claiming it.

Billionaire Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion last week.

Since the purchase, Musk has moved quickly to put his mark on the company, firing its previous chief and other senior officials.

Musk said subscribers with blue check marks would get priority in mentions, replies, and search and would be able to post longer audio and videos. The subscribers with blue check marks would see half as many ads.

Musk’s comments follow media reports of him looking at the process of profile verification and the allocation of blue check marks. Twitter used to give these to noteworthy profiles based on its criteria.