SEVERAL Twitter accounts have got their blue check marks back days after the company removed them for all but paid subscribers.

The mark — known as the stamp of authenticity before Elon Musk took over Twitter — has apparently returned for accounts with over one million followers, according to TechCrunch.

But many who got their stamp of authenticity back said they didn’t pay for it. This contradicted Mr Musk’s proclamation that blue marks will only be given to accounts subscribed to Twitter Blue.

The question users are asking is: what’s the criteria to get the coveted blue mark? But, no one has the answer.

The criteria of over a million followers also appeared to be arbitrary. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has over a million followers but didn’t get the badge.

A programmer named Travis Brown analysed accounts with over a million followers and found that almost 110 didn’t have the verification mark, according to TechCrunch.

The return of blue ticks was not only inexplicable, but also baffling, and to an extent, spooky. The accounts of dead celebrities have also been given the badge back. Hovering over the badge shows a pop-up reading: “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”

Michael Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, Barbara Walters and Anthony Bourdain are just a few of the many deceased stars to have regained their verification status, The Verge reported. Many of these accounts have been inactive for years.

The ‘verified’ fakes

Twitter also gave the blue mark to a fake Disney and an MTV account.

According to the BBC, the account, called @DisneyJuniorUK, was tweeting slurs and profanities but managed to get a gold tick, granted only to organisations who apply for it.

Similarly, a parody Twitter account branding itself after MTV’s game show The Challenge was given a gold check mark after posting videos and images of violence, Deadline reported.

For Mr Musk, Twitter Blue was his chance to shore up cash for the company he bought last year.

The price for individual Twitter blue subscriptions — coming with a blue check — was set at $8. For organisations, the price was $1,000, with an additional $50 for affiliated accounts of its subsidiaries and employees, TechCrunch reported.

Over the weekend, multiple people pointed out that the $1,000 fee was non-refundable even if the account’s application was rejected.

But analysis shows that Twitter Blue didn’t exactly turn out to be the moneyball Mr Musk expected. According to an analysis, the scheme brought in just $11 million from mobile subscriptions in the first three months after the launch in December, according to TechCrunch.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2023