Twitter Is Delaying Launch of Verification Check Ticks till after US Midterm Elections

According to a report by The New York Times, Twitter is delaying the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers until after the midterm elections in the US. The subscription-based model for account verification is one of the significant changes that Twitter is making under its new leadership. Shortly after his successful Twitter takeover, Elon Musk announced that users would begin to pay $8 to verify their accounts. The billionaire added that existing Twitter accounts with the blue tick will retain their verification if they pay the fee.

The actions raised great concerns and remarks amongst members of the social media network community. While some supported the new model, more reacted against the news. Some Twitter users said they would not be paying for the checkmark, and fewer said they were okay with paying $5 or less than the proposed fee. According to the opposers of the latest Twitter change on verification, scammers will find it easier to operate by merely paying $8 for a coverup. Another set of opposers believes that the fee is just the beginning of increased charges Twitter will introduce as time goes by. While some celebrities have already left Twitter because of the newly-introduced blue tick subscription, others are planning to abandon the platform for the same reason.

Twitter Delays Verification Checkmarks to Subscribers

An internal post revealed that Twitter is delaying the launch of the verification ticks to subscribers until the midterm elections are over on Tuesday. This came after it said in a new update to the app that the paid verification process has become a feature of Twitter Blue, its website’s subscription service. A Twitter employee made a statement on the Twitter Slack channel that the company is about to make a “risky change before the election, which has the potential of causing election interference.” That is, anyone could get their account verified and begin to post false election results. After the statement, a manager on the Twitter verification badge project responded:

“We’ve made the decision to move the launch of this release to Nov. 9, after the election.”

Besides the new paid service for verification on Twitter, Musk also laid off about 50% of the company’s workforce. As the past week ended, Musk said the employees, who hold up to 3,700 jobs, would be leaving the company. The new Twitter owner said the cut was necessary as the firm was losing $4 million per day. Additionally, Twitter is considering paid direct messages that allow users to privately contact high-profile users. As Musk explores other options to rake in money for the company, there is the idea of “paywalled” videos. That means that users will not be able to view some videos until they pay a fee.