Twitter appeared to be launching an overhaul of its “blue check” system for verifying users on Saturday, with a message on Apple’s app store offering a new $7.99 subscription to “Twitter Blue,” including an automatic blue checkmark for subscribers’ accounts.
With just three days before midterm elections, and one day after layoffs cut the company’s staff in half, new owner Elon Musk has been sending jitters through the political and media landscape for the possibility that the platform could see a surge in disinformation and bogus accounts.
It was unclear if the program was intended to be live, or simply in a partial rollout phase on Saturday. It did not appear to be working: A previously unverified reporter signed up for the new service Saturday. Their card was charged $4.99 monthly instead of the advertised $7.99 monthly, and a blue check did not appear alongside their name on the app.