Twitter left users stunned over the weekend after it took away after which brought back the “blue check” status symbol for long-dead celebrities and politicians like Michael Jackson, Anthony Bourdain and Hugo Chavez.
Other deceased luminaries whose Twitter accounts have been restored include Kobe Bryant, assassinated Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, Fast and Furious star Paul Walker and Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.
Twitter also restored a blue check to the account of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Several still-living high-profile celebrities, including creator Stephen King, Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander, and Lakers superstar LeBron James, got their blue checks back — although a few of them insisted on not paying the $8 monthly subscription fee for Twitter Blue, which admits the tick.
“For the curious, I’m not subscribed to Twitter Blue. I have never given my phone number to anyone,” fantasy creator Neil Gaiman wrote to his 3 million followers over the weekend.
Ian McKellen, a British actor, denied that he was “paying for the ‘honor’ of getting a blue checkmark after his status was restored.
The museum on the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp tried to clarify to its observers that it “never subscribed or paid” for Twitter Blue.
Twitter didn’t explain the explanations for its actions, although Twitter CEO Elon Musk said he would “personally pay” for Twitter Blue subscriptions for James, King and “Star Trek” legend William Shatner.
“My Twitter account says I’m subscribed to Twitter Blue. I do not,” King tweeted to his 7.1 million+ followers. “My Twitter account says I gave my phone number. I do not. Just so .”
“You are welcome, namaste,” Musk replied.
Musk, the Tesla mogul who bought Twitter for $44 billion last fall and was in search of ways to generate revenue from this cash-strapped social media service, launched a subscription plan earlier this yr and promised to remove verified checkmarks for many who refused to pay $8 a month .
Last week, several Twitter accounts with huge followings, including those of huge media organizations akin to the Latest York Times, Fox News and the BBC, noticed the disappearance of blue tags.
However the checkmarks mysteriously returned to several large Twitter handles with the message that “the account has been verified because they’re subscribed to Twitter Blue and have verified their phone number.”
Twitter has restored the accounts of deceased celebrities, including Bryant, the basketball great who died along with his daughter and 7 others in a helicopter crash in Southern California in January 2020.
Bourdain, the celebrity chef and host of CNN’s popular travel and cooking show, has reclaimed his blue check despite his Twitter account having been dormant since he died by suicide in 2018.
Chavez, Venezuela’s late socialist ruler, has been dead for a decade, but his Twitter account has been restored.
Intelligence officials within the US and other Western countries claim that Saudi Arabia and its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, orchestrated the assassination of Khashoggi, a US resident.
James’s media adviser, Adam Mendelsohn, confirmed to The Verge that he didn’t pay for the service. A Twitter worker allegedly sent James an email recently stating that the corporate has decided to “renew a free Twitter Blue subscription in your account, @kingjames, on behalf of Elon Musk.”
Musk later revealed he was paying the bill.
“Paying for a number of personally,” Musk tweeted. “Only Shatner, LeBron and King.”
Other stars, akin to actor Charlie Sheen, had their blue tickets taken away. Platoon actor Sheen even pleaded with Musk to bring back his checkmark.
The wipe of a verified account – which was introduced on April 20 – has been expected for months. Musk described Twitter’s verification process under the old management as a “lords and peasants system” that was unfair to regular users.
At the identical time, Musk is in search of additional revenue streams on Twitter on account of a major drop in promoting since he took over the corporate last October.
Additional reporting by Thomas Barrabi