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| Twitter verification badge |
The coveted Twitter verification badge (blue tick), which is highly sought after, was sold by some workers of the business under the previous owner to some people for thousands of dollars, according to Elon Musk, CEO of the microblogging site Twitter.
In response to an inquiry from a user who questioned the new CEO if the claims that some employees were selling the verification badge to ineligible people for payments ranging from $15,000 upwards were real, Mr. Musk acknowledged the covert behaviour.
The most wealthy person in the world replied to the user's tweet with "yup," revealing that some people who could afford it did receive verification badges.
Since he took over the social media company in a $44 billion deal last month, Mr Musk has sought to revamp Twitter’s verification process.
In the new verification process, which the Tesla CEO tagged “power to the people”, any Twitter user can get the blue badge on their profile irrespective of their level of significance, given that they pay $8 per month for the company’s premium service.
The new system bypasses the old that was designed for only individuals who can prove that they are people of high notoriety.
According to multiple sources including Prime 9ja Online, Twitter has started rolling out the $8 per month Twitter blue service in Apple iOS devices on Saturday, with the company announcing that its premium subscribers will get the blue tick.
Although the service is only available to users in some selected countries, Mr Musk said “as soon as we confirm it’s working well in the initial set of countries and we have the translation work done, it will roll out worldwide”.