The new Twitter Blue with verification that costs $8 is rolling out on iOS. New Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk announced the feature last Tuesday in a tweet, saying, “Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.” According to The Verge, the update note reveals that subscribers will get the verified blue checkmark “just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow.”
The update, however, is not proving all perks promised by Musk yet for the new Twitter Blue as subscribers are yet to receive the verified checkmark. Users who have updated and subscribed only see a revamped notifications screen that defaults to tweets from verified accounts, The Verge reports. At sign-up, subscribers get a pop-up message that says, “Blue looks good on you, enjoy your verified checkmark,” but there is no way to opt-in for a verification badge yet.
Twitter has not officially announced the update, and it is not clear yet when subscribers will start receiving the verified blue checkmark. Earlier report indicates that Musk gave employees working on the new Twitter Blue until November 7th to deliver or get fired. Since taking over the social media platform, Musk has been vocal about changes on his Twitter account and reportedly fired around 50 per cent of the company’s workforce on Friday. Employees across various departments were reportedly laid off, including accessibility, communications, product trust and safety, and other areas.
Musk tweeted about the massive layoffs on Friday, saying:” Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.” Ex-CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted on Saturday seemingly in support of Musk’s decision: “Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient. They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that.”
The new Twitter Blue update is only available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand for now. The update note mentions the availability of the verified checkmark for now, while other features, such as fewer ads, the ability to post longer videos, and priority ranking to help “lower the visibility of scams, spam, and bots,” are listed as “coming soon.”
