Elon Musk wants to charge Twitter users $8 (about R145) a month for the platform’s coveted blue tick.
The forum’s new CEO also branded the current verification system “bull****”.
He tweeted on Tuesday: “Twitter’s current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bull****.
Price adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”
He added that the fee would be “adjusted by country, proportionate to purchasing power parity” and promised that users would get “priority in replies, mentions and searches” and the right to post long videos.
This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
The world’s richest man, who bought Twitter for $44 billion, also offered subscribers a “paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us”.
He said it would produce a revenue stream to reward content creators, which he said was essential.
There is currently a six-step verification process to get Twitter’s blue badge to show the account is genuine.
Elon had also said Twitter must charge for its blue tick to battle “bots and trolls”, with reports that users could face a charge of up to $19.99 a month for the privilege.
His plan has sparked fury among many users, including from prolific tweeter Stephen King, who said he would quit if a charge was imposed.
The 75-year-old horror writer tweeted: “$20 a month to keep my blue check? F*** that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
Musk replied to the ‘IT’ author, saying the move was being made because the social media platform can’t rely “entirely on advertisers”.
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