Blue tick reappears for many influential users on Twitter despite no subscription

New Delhi: Many influential and famous users recently lost the blue checkmark from their Twitter accounts as Elon Musk's micro-blogging site removed it for those with no subscription.

With the launch of paid subscription service Twitter Blue, only users who have subscribed will be able to have a blue checkmark in front of their names along with access to some brand-new features.

Musk had announced that the legacy ticks would begin disappearing from April 20 onwards.

However, now numerous influential and well-known Twitter users globally have had their blue verification badges reinstated next to their usernames, despite not subscribing to the service.

Musk seems to have restored the coveted blue badge of users with reportedly over a million followers, according to a report in Rolling stone.

Several users who have at least one million Twitter followers discovered today that the blue ticks they had until Friday, April 20 have returned to their accounts. But the blue checks that were restored display that the accounts are verified because they are paying for Twitter Blue, reports NDTV.

The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah also took to Twitter to point out the same. He said, "Apparently I've paid for Twitter Blue & given them a phone number to verify except that I haven't. Mr Musk are you paying for mine as well?"

American journalist Matt Binder has tweeted that he got his Blue tick for free. "Elon Musk just gave me mine for free and I'm not even a Hollywood celeb".

Indian journalist Nidhi Razdan also got her Blue tick back. She tweeted: "My blue tick is back for some reason. I haven't paid for it. What's up @Twitter?".

Moreover, the American news outlet The New York Times has got Business Verification on Twitter.

In addition, NPR (National Public Radio), an American non-profit media organisation has got its blue tick back on the account which is no longer in use.

In India, several popular celebrities appeared to have their Blue tick back, including -- Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, cricketers Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and comedian Vir Das, among others.

Strangely, even profiles of celebrities and noted personalities who are no more, have a verified checkmark next to their account indicating that they are subscribed to the new paid verification feature. "This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number," reads the text when one hover on their blue badges.

Former Minister of External Affairs of India Sushma Swaraj, actors Sushant Singh Rajput, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, singer Michael Jackson, basketball player Kobe Bryant, and cricketer Shane Warne are among many others.

It is also noteworthy that the Co-Founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, who has 6.5 million followers on the platform, does not have the blue badge next to his profile.

Earlier Musk had stated that he is "personally paying" for the Twitter Blue subscriptions of some celebrities to keep their checkmark. These included basketball star LeBron James, Star Trek star William Shatner and author Stephen King. They had publicly announced that they would not sign up for the paid service.

Twitter Blue was launched in India on February 8 and is now accessible for a monthly subscription fee of Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices.