Twitter has removed the verified blue tick from the New York Times’ main account after CEO Elon Musk criticized the organization as “propaganda”. Musk has made it a priority to open up the blue checkmark feature, which indicates an authentic account, to paying subscribers since he took over the platform last year. Twitter has now transitioned to a paid verification scheme and the site announced it would begin winding down “legacy” blue checkmarks from April 1.
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Under Musk’s new system, companies, charities and news media organizations that had already lost their blue tick were tagged as verified business accounts with a gold tick. To retain the gold tick after the rollout of the subscription service, Twitter Blue, these groups would have to pay a monthly fee of $1,000 in the United States and $50 for each additional affiliated account.
The New York Times stated that it would not pay for a verified business account and would subscribe for a blue tick only for journalists who find it essential for their reporting needs. As a result, the organization’s main account, with nearly 55 million followers, lost its gold checkmark, while affiliate accounts such as those for its travel and opinion sections, retained the ticks.
