Twitter recently removed the legacy verified blue checkmarks from accounts nearly a month after announcing that users will have to buy a Twitter Blue subscription to retain the coveted tick. Several high-profile celebrities, film stars, politicians, and sportspersons also lost the blue tick. Among them also included Shaadi.com founder and Shark Judge Anupam Mittal who earlier had a verified account on Twitter, but has now lost his badge.
In a tweet, Mr. Mittal expressed his displeasure with the move and took a jibe at Elon Musk saying that he would now cancel his plans to buy a Tesla. ''Am canceling my planned purchase of a Tesla … ticked off,'' he tweeted.
See the tweet here:
While several Twitter users were amused by his tweet, others asked him to not complain and simply pay for the verification badge. One user said, ''You should make another Twitter in India because having Huge Audiences there.''
Another commented, ''Isn't it hypocrisy? One who charges premium on@ShaadiDotCom for the same concept but throws tantrum for $8 per month while being a consumer of other platforms.'' A third said, ''You can pay for @Tesla but you can't pay 560 bucks for @TwitterBlue. Honestly, you don't deserve one.''
A fourth added, ''Why? Elon is a businessman charging for his blue tick services on his platform. What's wrong with it. I guess your platform also charges its clients for services you guys offered through your business model''
Several B-town celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Alia Bhatt, and politicians like CM Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, and cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also lost their verified blue ticks from their Twitter accounts.
However, later, Elon Musk restored the blue badge of users with reportedly over a million followers, as per a report in Rolling Stone. Earlier, he had stated that he is "personally paying" for the Twitter Blue subscriptions of some celebrities to keep their checkmark. These included basketball star LeBron James, Star Trek star William Shatner and author Stephen King.
As per the company's new policy, users will now need to pay a fee of $8 per month to get their badges.
