Elon Musk Is Forcing Twitter Blue Verification on Some People Against Their Will — Including Dead Celebrities Hover over any blue tick, and the standard message appears: "They are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number."
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Twitter's legacy verifications were discontinued last week — but CEO Elon Musk is making sure certain users retain their little blue ticks, whether they're paying for them or not.
Several high-profile accounts have been re-verified, including those belonging to some dead celebrities, in what may be an as-yet-unconfirmed bid to automatically authenticate users with more than one million followers, The Verge reported.
Related: Elon Musk Gets Into Twitter Fight With Ex-Employee | BIZ Experiences
But the unveiling hasn't gone off without a hitch. If you hover over the blue ticks of the accounts of deceased celebrities, the standard message that shows alongside every other verification appears: "They are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number."
Michael Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, Bob Saget, Kirstie Alley, Barbara Walters, Anthony Bourdain and Paul Walker are among the many deceased public figures whose verifications have been reinstated.
Musk's decision to charge for the honor of the blue tick elicited significant backlash from the start. The division even sparked opposing hashtags #paythe8 and #blocktheblue, and some celebrities alleged they were "punished" with the badge last weekend following their criticism of it, per CNN.
Now, the little blue tick is mired in more uncertainty than ever before.
