Twitter has restored blue tick badges to some high profile accounts a couple of days after removing them. BBC reported that Twitter accounts with more than one million followers have had their blue tick badges re-instated by Twitter without paying to subscribe.
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Before the platform was bought by Elon Musk, the blue tick was a badge of verification given for free by Twitter. It was originally used as a tool of authentication, designed to help stop fake accounts and the spread of misinformation.
Upon taking over Twitter, Elon Musk stated that the firm’s finances were in dire straits and that Twitter was operating at a loss of $4m per day.
The blue tick badge thus became a product through which Twitter could make money via a subscription or around US$8 per month.
Twitter has not revealed how many people have chosen to subscribe so far but the app firm Sensor Tower estimated to TechCrunch that the platform had around 386,000 subscribers in March 2023.
At the time of this report, well known Nigerians such as Davido, Tony Elumelu, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Bola Tinubu has all had their badges restored. Also, Pope Francis whose badge was removed along with others has seen his restored.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur