The microblogging platform Twitter on Thursday removed the traditional verified blue ticks from all accounts.
Only individual Twitter users who pay for Twitter Blue, which costs $8 per month via the web and $11 per month via in-app payment on iOS and Android, have verified blue checkmarks.
A number of B-town celebrities, including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Alia Bhatt, as well as politicians Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi, as well as cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, have lost their verified blue ticks from their Twitter accounts as a result of the recent development.
Prior to Elon Musk's takeover, Twitter had previously indicated that it would remove the verified check-mark status from accounts that were confirmed as noteworthy unless they had signed up for Twitter Blue or the business-focused Twitter Verified Organisations plan, according to Variety.
Initially, the blue tick was used to guard well-known people against impersonation and combat false information.
Earlier in March, Twitter posted from their official handle, "On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue."
The blue tick mark system was first implemented by Twitter in 2009 to assist users in determining which accounts "of public interest" were legitimate and which were fake or parody accounts, including those of celebrities, politicians, businesses and brands, news organisations, and others. Prior to this time, the company didn't charge for verification.
Within two weeks of the company's acquisition last year, Musk unveiled Twitter Blue with the check-mark emblem as one of the deluxe perks.