Twitter has officially rolled out its revamped Twitter Blue subscription, including a verified checkmark for all subscribers.
Twitter Blue
Previously, the monthly subscription cost $3.99, but the price has increased to $7.99 under the new leadership of Elon Musk.
Although users pay the company for premium features, it only partially removes advertising. Instead, they can expect to see "half the ads," according to Musk. Other features include editing tweets and the verified badge.
That badge has been a point of contention lately. Initially, it was meant to mark accounts that went through a verification process with Twitter so that users could trust that the account was authentic.
However, Musk wants any Twitter Blue subscriber to receive the badge, whether they are government officials or a bot from a foreign country. He tweeted on Wednesday that "Blue check will be the great leveler," which seems contrary to the pay-to-play model that's been introduced.
Right now, Twitter users have to click on a blue check to see why the user has the denotation. At some point, there may be a more visible way to tell the difference, without a click-through.
The company recently pushed an update for true verified accounts to have a separate gray badge and a label on specific pages that says "Official." Twitter removed the new title for now but may include it for certain Twitter Blue subscribers in the future.
Since Musk acquired Twitter, advertisers have been leaving or pausing their ad campaigns as they reevaluate the company's new leadership. Twitter Blue, along with other ideas, is one way to bolster the company's funding, although time will tell how effective that will be.