{"id":220724,"date":"2024-04-05T08:33:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T08:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/05\/x-gives-blue-checkmarks-to-influential-non-subscribers\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:19:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:19:16","slug":"x-gives-blue-checkmarks-to-influential-non-subscribers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/05\/x-gives-blue-checkmarks-to-influential-non-subscribers\/","title":{"rendered":"X gives blue checkmarks to ‘influential’ non-subscribers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Elon Musk\u2019s X has begun to roll out a new blue checkmark feature on the platform. Users can now get X Premium for free based on the number of premium followers a user has.<\/p>\n

The launch has not been universally popular in what is another shift away from the operating model of the former Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last week, Musk detailed how X accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers would receive new perks and now the decision has been applied.<\/p>\n

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Going forward, all \ud835\udd4f accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free<\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On Wednesday (3 April), some users described how the blue checkmark had been added to their accounts despite not paying for the benefit previously reserved for subscribers.<\/p>\n

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This is the note they sent me pic.twitter.com\/tXffJnBLqd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Peter Kafka (@pkafka) April 4, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

One prominent user<\/a> even queried how to opt out of the new blue checkmark feature.<\/p>\n

Will the new blue checkmark have an impact on X?<\/h2>\n

Once upon a time, the check was a symbol of status and meaning.<\/p>\n

High-profile users including sports professionals, celebs, journalists and politicians would have the check mark emblazoned on their accounts for a reason. A similar symbol was given to accounts of official agencies and offices.<\/p>\n

All that changed after Musk\u2019s takeover in 2022 when the model came tumbling down. All of a sudden the verification system became a commodity that anyone could acquire and disinformation flourished.<\/p>\n

X Premium, formerly Twitter Blue, was the introduction of Musk\u2019s first subscription model<\/a> which meant a check could be obtained for $8 a month. Bad actors seized the opportunity to wreak havoc and that is what ensued as the platform was flooded with fraudulent accounts of major companies and personalities.<\/p>\n

In one instance, a fake Eli Lilly account appeared with the message \u201cInsulin is free now,\u201d sending the stock price of the pharmaceutical firm downward.<\/p>\n

As for the new landscape on X, confusion reigns.<\/p>\n

Some are pleasantly surprised by their new blue symbol, many are ridiculing the update and others just want it gone.<\/p>\n

Image credit: Ideogram<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n