Elon Musk says the blue checkmark system is “bullshit” and Twitter Blue will be $8/month with half the ads, priority in replies, mentions, and search, and more

Twitter's current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.

@elonmusk 2022-11-02 Elon Musk

Context & Ripple Effects

Musk had already proposed giving every Twitter Blue subscriber an authentication checkmark at a much lower, ad-free price in an earlier Twitter Blue proposal. By late October, reporting indicated Twitter was weighing a $20 verified-subscription plan, making the $8 offer a sharper move toward converting verification into a mass-market subscription benefit.

The rollout also exposed the tension in that model: Twitter later paused signups after fake verified accounts proliferated, while retaining the reduced-ad commitment in a subsequent subscriber offering.

First-order effects

Twitter Blue subscribers are promised a purchasable checkmark, half as many ads, and preferential placement in replies, mentions, and search for $8 per month.
Non-subscribers face a relative visibility disadvantage in Twitter’s interaction and discovery surfaces as Blue benefits are applied.

Second-order effects

The subscription’s value depends on Twitter distinguishing paid accounts from impersonators; the later signup pause shows that verification operations became a constraint on monetizing Blue.
Advertisers and users must contend with a two-tier experience in which paid accounts receive both reduced ad exposure and greater prominence in conversations and search.

Third-order effects

If sustained, Twitter’s checkmark shifts from a selectively assigned identity signal to a subscription feature, making platform trust increasingly dependent on safeguards around paid status.
The bundled offer points to a broader platform model in which ad load and distribution are priced together, rather than treated as separate products.

The trend: Twitter Blue is part of a shift toward subscription tiers that bundle identity markers, reduced advertising, and preferential distribution.

Discussion

@stephenking Stephen King on x
$20 a month to keep my blue check? Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
And paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
You will also get: - Priority in replies, mentions & search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam - Ability to post long video & audio - Half as many ads
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@StephenKing We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators
@jason @jason on x
How much would you pay to be verified & get a blue check mark on Twitter?
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
A $99 annual plan for Twitter Blue! Everyone gets the edit button for free! And that all-hands meeting is canceled! All the latest from inside Twitter's regime change in today's @platformer for subscribers ➡️ https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Price adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
Twitter is working on “Paid DMs”
@craigmod Craig Mod on x
everyone is freaking out about how @elonmusk is iterating live and can't believe the flipping and flopping, but this is just the general manic insanity that happens behind closed doors in most startups
@antoniogm Antonio García Martínez on x
It's amusing to watch the very caste whose entire status rides on that little checkmark swearing up and down that they'd never be such losers as to pay for it. You're going to fork out for it (or your employer will). Who are you kidding? You'd pay more than $20 even. LMAO.
@vitalikbuterin @vitalikbuterin on x
I don't get this critique that charging $8/month creates an economic hierarchy. The current blue check system is *far* more exclusive than even the $20/month level from yesterday. Ideally, though, verification would be charged at-cost and separate from other premium services.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
There will be a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians
@vitalikbuterin @vitalikbuterin on x
How well this works depends on exactly how much due diligence is done to make sure blue checks are who they say they are. “Pay $8/month and call yourself whatever” would damage the blue check's anti-scam role. But if there's more actual verification, the result is very different.…
@chillmage @chillmage on x
elon musk is so good at negotiation he paid $44 billion for something worth ~$10 and then as his first order of business he proposed a $20 monthly subscription and immediately revised that down to $8 because Stephen King told him to fuck off. brilliant stuff
@julian_epp Jules on x
Looks like Twitter is changing the verification symbol too. Google “Elon Musk emerald” for more info https://twitter.com/...
@apollozac Elon Musk on x
Be anyone you want to be! Blue for $8/month.
@jamesrbuk James Ball on x
If one in five current blue ticks paid $20 a month that would raise just under $15 million a year for Twitter...Twitter's current revenues (mostly from ads) are $5 billion a year. Musk's apparent plan would generate about 30 hours' worth of annual revenue. https://www.newstatesma…
@chrisfluming Chris Fleming on x
elon musk's twitter journey is very jack skellington trying to do christmas
@daphnehk Daphne Keller on x
If I pay to get a blue check that brings an extra ranking boost to my tweets, do I become an advertiser for purposes of... well, literally thousands of laws, but let's just say the DSA?
@jessicaelgot Jessica Elgot on x
Can't really understand the logic behind “pay content creators” and “pay to have a blue tick”. Often blue tick accounts are the ones who create the valuable content, eg by breaking news here first. (Some blue ticks obviously do not create valuable content blah blah we know this) …
@shannonrwatts Shannon Watts on x
The funniest thing about this is that Elon Musk thinks the issue is that Stephen King is balking at the $20 per month fee. https://twitter.com/...
@firstadopter Tae Kim on x
Glad this is the case as the authenticity of public figures accounts and their tweets is one of the core attributes and benefits of Twitter. But this also means Blue users are basically paying $8/month for a meaningless blue check mark badge. You can't make this up. https://t.co/…
@punished_cait Cait on x
this is literally pathetic lol https://twitter.com/...
@astrokatie Katie Mack on x
The point of Twitter verification is that for certain individuals/organizations it's useful to be able to verify their statements are coming from them. (This is why so many journalists/reporters are verified.) It's supposed to help combat disinformation, not be a status symbol.
@levie Aaron Levie on x
One thing they don't teach you in business school is that product pricing is often determined through live negotiations with Stephen King. https://twitter.com/...
@ashleylynch @ashleylynch on x
Getting real genius vibes here. https://twitter.com/...
@jhweissmann Jordan Weissmann on x
This was all very well thought out I see https://twitter.com/...
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
So if this $20/month for verified goes ahead, some news orgs have 100's of staff verified. They'll hardly pay to keep everyone verified... right?
@isosteph Stephanie on x
does this just get rid of verification entirely like can i just spin up 16 bluechecked elon musk accounts to ask for crypto https://twitter.com/...
@ahmednasirlaw Ahmednasir Abdullahi SC on x
$8 dollars a month for a blue checkmark is bullshit and will create lords and peasants on the twitter streets. I have no problem losing it and remaining a peasant! https://twitter.com/...
@aljwhite Alan White on x
I'm worried he hasn't thought this through. https://twitter.com/...
@alexvtunzelmann Alex von Tunzelmann on x
Lots of good points in this article and this one is decisive for me, at least. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@pbump Philip Bump on x
MUSK: i heart free speech, let the public square be freed! ALSO MUSK: you have to pay not to be “shadowbanned” https://twitter.com/...
@everywhereist Geraldine on x
“We're going to charge you but also don't worry because you'll make money” The princeling has been in charge for two days and he's already made it a pyramid scheme https://twitter.com/...
@strngwys Roberto Baldwin on x
I don't see value in Blue and frankly someone could still impersonate me with a paid account so my check mark is worthless in 90 days. But let's still have @StephenKing negotiate all the things for us going forward. https://twitter.com/...
@phil_lewis_ Philip Lewis on x
I think this is a fundamental misunderstanding of how verification is supposed to work. A blue check has been perceived as a status symbol for some time when really it's just supposed to tell you if a page is authentic or not. https://twitter.com/...
@joe_hill Joe Hill on x
Let's not lose track of this — don't pony up, and your tweets get buried. https://twitter.com/...
@nicoleperlroth @nicoleperlroth on x
Here lies the problem. Techno utopians lack the imagination to understand how people outside their elite circles use their platforms, often at great sacrifice. I work with aspiring cybersecurity journalists in Africa. @elonmusk's paid verification would be a nightmare for them ht…
@mattwridley Matt Ridley on x
Speaking as a real lord, I say he has a point. Cash is more of an equaliser than patronage. https://twitter.com/...
@adavidhalejoint @adavidhalejoint on x
If Twitter found a way to allow free access to quality journalism in a Spotify-esque model, I'd happily pay $8/month for that. But key is making that beneficial for publishers/journalists too. https://twitter.com/...
@monsterenergy @monsterenergy on x
why spend $8 for a blue checkmark when you can pay $3 to unleash the beast https://twitter.com/...
@asemota Osaretin Victor Asemota on x
If you tell people to pay for KYC, you will be left with no C. Particularly for something that does not make money for the customers. https://twitter.com/...
@bradmossesq Bradley P. Moss on x
Scam artists use this logic to lure people in. Pay me for the right to use my platform where you *might* make money one day. https://twitter.com/...
@morganicink LaToya Morgan on x
Big picture: What they want is to not be able to tell whose account is real or not. https://twitter.com/...
@mattdpearce Matt Pearce on x
The argument here is that content creators need to pay Twitter to create a revenue stream to pay content creators. https://twitter.com/...
@blaque_rainbow @blaque_rainbow on x
I will be returning to tumblr, streaming on twitch more, and instagram of course. When this ship crashes and burns I hope to see y'all on the other side, if not our time together was fun! https://twitter.com/...
@themaxburns Max Burns on x
And a “paywall bypass” for “publishers willing to work with us” i.e. give Musk/Twitter a cut of their revenue. Musk is turning Twitter into the Internet's biggest rent-seeking system in record time. https://twitter.com/...
@michaelehayden Michael Edison Hayden on x
Musk doesn't seem to understand the potential social stigma of buying a blue checkmark, which under this plan will become an insignia that you're one of his reactionary fanboys. https://twitter.com/...
@lizkmiller Liz Miller on x
For folks keeping score: Twitter Blue will - ADD blue-check account verification - REMOVE ad-free access to select publisher content Fee goes to $20/mo from $4.99/mo Any minute now we are gonna see a full-formed business plan...right? https://twitter.com/...
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
State propaganda will also be able to buy their way to boost their talking points in the replies section https://twitter.com/...
@jontronshow JonTron on x
Is this a joke lol? Even though the current system is WAY too opaque, all this will do is lower the value of the verification as well as make it harder to figure out who is genuinely a real person or fake account lol. Wtf? https://twitter.com/...
@naval @naval on x
Charging for the blue check moves it from a status symbol to a utilitarian one. It elicits shrieks because it's more about leveling the playing field than making money.
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
I am deadly serious when I say the actual reason Musk is saying he's going to do this is that he just came up with it, rather than any strategic plan or ideology. It's like he bought an expensive laptop but all he does is use chrome so he's installed 3DMark https://twitter.com/..…
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
My rule #1 on the internet that's never been successfully broken is to charge for something that was previously free https://twitter.com/...
@mattbinder Matt Binder on x
when you read things like this, you really get an understanding of why so many people in crypto lose all their money https://twitter.com/...
@jalexandria22 @jalexandria22 on x
If you can't see that tying credibility and verification to one's ability to pay for it in a capitalistic world rife with misinformation in favor of those more money... idk what to tell you. This has less to do with “celebrity” status and more to do with greed https://twitter.com…
@sarthakgh Sar Haribhakti on x
Annual plan costing more than the monthly plan is the type of chaotic pricing strategy we didn't know we needed for The Drama https://twitter.com/...
@johnmcquaid John McQuaid on x
Interesting how Musk's plan for Twitter resembles the strategy of most of the newspaper industry: slash staff and make up for falling advertising $$ with more subscription $$ for a product people are already moving away from & is declining in quality = ???https://www.wsj.com/...
@edroso Roy Edroso on x
That's the point: Musk wants to destroy the idea of expertise and accomplishment entirely, so that a respected epidemiologist, for example, will be indistinguishable from any crystals-and-woo crank who calls themself “doctor.” https://twitter.com/...
@esqueer_ Alejandra Caraballo on x
The verification badge has life or death consequences outside of the west. Elon just posted this after haggling with Stephen King over the price. This is just an insane way to handle a business. https://twitter.com/...
@everywhereist Geraldine on x
“willing to work with us” is the most ominous fucking wording https://twitter.com/...
@aoc Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on x
Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that “free speech” is actually a $8/mo subscription plan
@balajis Balaji Srinivasan on x
“The censorship squad understands fickle ad revenue is a weakness” A move to subscriptions partially blunts this attack. TWTR rev: ~$5B/year Proposed subscription: ~$100/year/person You need 50M/300M users to subscribe to fully *replace* ads. Too high. But 5M/300M is possible... …
@robertmaguire_ Robert Maguire on x
He's also still completely missing the point of verification. I like knowing that an account that purports to be a reporter, govt official, or an expert from a particular organization is who they say they are, and not someone who just happened to have $8/month to impersonate them…
@balajis Balaji Srinivasan on x
The blue checks wanted to abolish billionaires, in the name of equality. The billionaire will end up abolishing the blue checks, in the name of equality. https://twitter.com/...
@lianbuan Lian Buan on x
Congratulations for legitimizing the disinformation network for the small price of $8 a month https://twitter.com/...
@alexbruell Alexandra Bruell on x
Twitter had described the ad-free feature as a way for publishers to earn more on a per-reader basis than they would from advertising. Publishers say it hadn't grown enough to meaningfully impact revenue. https://www.wsj.com/...
@stephenking Stephen King on x
I got the Truth Social app. It's amazing. The ads alone are more fucked up than Peter O'Toole on his birthday. Spoiler alert: Trump can't spell for shit.
@stardust_sigil Lawren on x
whatever you think of him, this is really good and should've happened a lot sooner https://twitter.com/...
@robforbesdj Rob Af on x
You used to get a check mark by simply having the domain in your bio website be the same as your user email domain. That was FREE. Pretending you're levelling the playing field by charging people a premium for something that cost nothing is genuinely hilarious. https://twitter.co…
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
So... getting rid of ad free stories, and switching to paywall bypass? This is confusing. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@nihilist_bucks @nihilist_bucks on x
$8 a month (12*$8 is $96) Or $99 a year ($8.25 a month) When you pay upfront you want to pay more this is true https://twitter.com/...
@moviehooligan David C Bell on x
Between “$8 for a check mark” and the NFT fad it's amazing how many tech dudes seem convinced that everyday people will pay actual money for arbitrary symbols of imaginary status.
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
So essentially lords who can pay get better services and peasants without means to fork over dough to the world's richest man are screwed as usual. Got it. Pretend it's some class warfare thing, but I never asked for the blue check and it's meaningless to me overall. https://twit…
@carlhigbie Carl Higbie on x
I'm not wild about paying $8/month either BUT... This is called advertising. If you pay for exposure you get it... no one is being surpressed, the payment IS promotion. If you don't like it you are free to leave. @elonmusk #capitalism https://twitter.com/...
@howardlindzon HowieVerse on x
yes @elonmusk had a 100 day plan to get out of the Twitter deal, not one for actually having to own it. So far his 3 day plan is to have @jason meet with the advertising ‘community’ and charge me for watching Youtube videos on Twitter Solid.
@libyaliberty Hend Amry on x
Can we request a peasant check mark? I'd love that. https://twitter.com/...
@snowden Edward Snowden on x
The obsession with platforms prostrating themselves before advertisers has always been misplaced, because on any scale longer than one bad news cycle, advertisers go where the audience is. Optimize platforms for people, not brands, because people have a choice. Brands don't. http…
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
I was wondering about it in the context of FTC advertising disclosure rules, but the DSA questions are even bigger. This is the kind of thing where it might help to have an actual head of legal & policy who deals with international law, but hey... https://twitter.com/...
@youranonnews @youranonnews on x
This just promotes the concept of “Lords & Peasants” - there are people who can't afford $8 a month ($96 a year) because so many are living paycheck to paycheck, and even below the poverty line. Musk made a bad business deal; lost a lot of money he's got to try to make up. https:…
@padresj @padresj on x
1. No “Lords & Peasants”, just “Haves” & “Have Nots”! 2. Priority responses = “Easier way to run crypto scams & disinformation campaigns w/o hijacking a verified account!” 3. This is LITERALLY paying for the privilege to work for Twitter (in making content). ... Hard pass. https:…
@mrinaldesai @mrinaldesai on x
How much for Twitter Red? https://twitter.com/...
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
It's always been weird that blue checkmarks are handed out according to the vague ‘do you know someone who can get me a blue check’ system. I have no idea if people will pay or if this will be implemented well but ‘users pays for service’ is the right way to do social media. http…
@kyleorl Kyle Orland on x
Serious question about $8/month Twitter verification: Is it going to be open for everyone, or is it just for people who are currently/would be otherwise verified to “keep” their checkmark? Two very different things, there
@erratarob @erratarob on x
Musk is an idiot. The “blue checkmark” used to mean one thing, marking celebrities. You can't make everyone a celebrity by giving them a blue checkmark for $8. What you are doing instead is changing the meaning from “celebrity” to “paying customer”. https://twitter.com/...
@byyourlogic @byyourlogic on x
ok this is tedious for me to keep posting about but it's so good. none of his core group of supporters want to bypass paywalls for most of the publishers that use them! they don't want to feel like they're subsidizing the NYT! I love Delaware... https://twitter.com/...
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Blue checks are so 2006. Twitter should sell dances and emotes for avatars, powered by machine learning. It'll be huge. https://m.youtube.com/...
@llsethj Seth Weintraub on x
@eejay ... You think China and Russia can't afford $8? He's not eliminating bots, he's profiting from them
@profcarroll David Carroll on x
Notice that new mgmt isn't pushing super follow rev share. I'm guessing subscribing to premium tweets didn't take off. The value folks derive from this platform is more abstract than new ownership wants to admit.
@molly_knight Molly Knight on x
so your plan to solve a “lords and peasants” problem is by putting a blue check next to the names of people who can afford this service and giving nothing to the people who can't. lol https://twitter.com/...
@blakereid Blake E. Reid on x
Free* speech * $7.99
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Elon has listed more ideas of value people could get by paying for Twitter besides verification and editing tweets. It's a good start. Two observations 1. Most social media platforms now want to pay power users, Twitter wants to charge them. 2. Bad actors can afford $8/month http…
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Twitter has needed to focus on a revenue stream to reward content creators for years, but I'm not sure Twitter Blue will help https://t.co/8XRpLVSrCh
@kevinrothrock Kevin Rothrock on x
So, the reports are true, but Musk heroically lowers the monthly price from $20 to $8. It's his network, of course, but this is just a new lords-and-peasants system, not its abolition. I'd pay $100/year to join lots of clubs, but not this one. https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
For Twitter to grow, it probably needs things that help new users and low-volume users, as well as (and perhaps much more) than the concerns of people with millions of followers and mentions full of bots and crypto spam https://t.co/PLddAjlxTP
@loganbartlett Logan Bartlett on x
I shitposted for years to get a blue check and now we're just giving them away? smh
@hodapp @hodapp on x
$8 a month seems like a fair price for the amount of amusement I'm getting out of watching Elon lose $44b.
@martinvars @martinvars on x
@elonmusk Have it already but happy to keep it with those features and pay $8
@timodc Tim Miller on x
Great news for annoying reply guys! For $8 a month you can harass people more prominently! https://twitter.com/...
@samgreis Sam Greisman on x
I do love Elon's plan of making it so that the only way to effectively prove you aren't a bot or a pathetic reply guy is to relinquish your check https://twitter.com/...
@davidscottjaffe Polter-Jaffe on x
Currently pay for twitter blue; for me it's a great service and I'll pay 8 bucks to keep the features. The blue check shit is dumb and embarrassing to watch people care about. Kill the check;let paying members do something cool w/the name/check area (customize, animate,whatever).…
@jason @jason on x
What premium features would you (or your company) most like to see in Twitter Blue? https://twitter.com/...
@qwongsj Queenie Wong on x
Twitter has said that the “blue Verified badge on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic. To receive the blue badge, your account must be authentic, notable, and active.” It was never meant to be a status symbol... https://twitter.com/...
@kattenbarge Kat Tenbarge on x
How will Twitter verification ensure that people aren't just impersonators or parody accounts? Let's say a bunch of creators lose their checks because they don't want to pay. What's stopping people from impersonating them, paying for verification, and tweeting fake info?
@xor Parker Higgins on x
wow if elon can just double the number of verified users and charge them each $8 a month, that would cover almost 10% of the annual debt obligations twitter took on to cover his purchase

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