Many Twitter users are about to start paying $8 per month to get a blue checkmark on their profiles, but a new leak suggests some people won’t have to pay.
The Twitter Blue subscription plan — specifically the way Elon Musk plans to tie the verified badge to it — has proven unpopular with many people. Some critics cite concerns that implementing a pay-per-badge scheme will devalue the blue checkmarks, making it hard to tell which accounts are authentic and which aren’t. It seems Twitter will attempt to deal with that by having a no-second-chance policy on banning impersonators, though some pessimists think that rule is mostly about preventing people from impersonating Musk himself.
Regardless of how you feel about some of the changes, the idea of paying $8 per month to keep a verified badge you originally received for free is less than appealing — and that may explain a big exception revealed in a newly leaked document.
