Elon Musk vows to remove 'corrupt' legacy verified blue checks from Twitter

Elon Musk has hinted that the legacy blue “verified” checkmark system on Twitter will soon be abolished. Twitter currently distinguishes between free and paid blue checks with a message saying, “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”

The blue check system, popularly known as “verification”, is a feature that allows users to distinguish between real and fake accounts. It shows that the person behind the account is a real person and not a bot or automated program. The feature has been around since 2009.

Musk replied to a Twitter user criticizing the controversial Twitter Blue service which costs Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices in India. “Legacy blue checks will be removed soon. Those are the ones that are truly corrupt,” Musk said in his tweet.

"Blue subscribers with a verified phone number will get a blue checkmark once approved," Twitter said in a statement when introducing the paid verification service.

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Musk bought Twitter in a $44 billion deal in October last year and has been tinkering its functionalities and features ever since.

According to a previous tweet by Musk, "Widespread verification will democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people."

The paid verification feature initially launched in November of last year right after Musk's takeover of Twitter did not work out that well and was soon suspended due to the social media platform becoming flooded with accounts parodying celebrities and organisations.

Twitter Blue subscription allows users to edit their tweets and post longer tweets, along with high-quality videos. Some other features in the paid subscription include Organize Bookmark, NFT Profile Picture, Theme, Custom App, and Navigation Icon.

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