New York Times Twitter Check Mark Removed Despite Musk U-turn to Keep Top 10k Legacy Verified Accounts

However, the billionaire, in his quest to make Twitter profitable again, has picked a fight with United States journalists who have in the past reported critically on him. The badge in question helps organizations and individuals prevent impersonation.

The move, according to the Times, goes against an earlier internal communication intended to preserve the badges for 10,000 most popular or followed organizations, notwithstanding if they paid or not.

Twitter To Discontinue Traditional Account Verification

The microblogging company announced that it was ready to start the gradual phasing out of its traditional verification program from Saturday, which will see the coveted blue check mark icons it has used to distinguish verified accounts of companies, journalists, and public figures removed.

“On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified check marks,” Twitter said via a tweet on Friday.

As this process continues, Twitter will start implementing a proposed pay-for-play system, an inclusive program that gives the badge to any organization or individual who signs up to pay.

Twitter’s Advertising revenue has fallen by more than 50% since October when Musk acquired the company, with over 500 clients discontinuing their spending including Audi Mondelez International Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Merck & Co, and Pfizer, as of February.

Revenue from advertising efforts accounted for at least 90% of Twitter’s $5.1 billion revenue in 202. Companies are concerned about a spike in impersonator accounts despite a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” at the helm of the organization.

Impersonator accounts have been flourishing following the move to phase out naturally verified accounts in favor of the new subscription model.

The social media company is stuck in a tough situation, with the subscription plan for the blue badge presented as the main way to earn money and cover the huge loss in advertising revenue that totals billions, along with Twitter’s debt issues.

After several failed launches, Twitter Blue will set individuals back $8 every month while businesses will have to dig deeper in their pockets as they will be required to pay $1,000 per month.

The New York Times Twitter account is the 24th most followed on the platform. Travis Brown, a software developer who monitors changes in social media accounts, gathered data that revealed only a small number of accounts, including The Times, had their badges revoked.

The New York Times’ situation seems to have been sparked by Musk himself. On Saturday, the billionaire and Tesla CEO reacted to a meme about the Times not paying for the blue badge, saying, “oh ok, we’ll take it off then.”

Oh ok, we’ll take it off then

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023

The Times is not the only new organization that is against paying for the new verification for the organization and its journalists. The Washington Post said on Thursday that it is unlikely to pay.

However, the Times issued another statement saying on some select and rare occasions, it could consider the blue mark icon “essential for reporting purposes.”

A New York Times spokesperson insisted on Sunday nothing had changed, the media house is still not “planning to pay the monthly fee for check mark status for our institutional Twitter accounts.”

Users Detest The New Changes

Twitter has changed the pop-up text that appears when someone clicks on the badge to confirm if the account is “verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or a legacy verified account.”

Users depended on this information to know the status of the accounts, but this change makes it difficult for users to distinguish between previously verified accounts (legacy verified) or those who subscribe to the new pay-for-play account. Twitter had previously distinguished between the two verification types.

Nevertheless, other accounts still had their badges intact, which further complicates the situation. A report by The Washington Post on Friday cited a former employee who said the removal process would be tedious, manual, and take a significant amount of time.

Apparently, Twitter’s software is prone to errors and is “held together with a duct tape.”

Musk in a deleted tweet on Sunday insinuated that verified accounts would get “a few weeks grace unless they tell they won’t pay now, in which we will remove it.”

Musk continued with his targeted attacks on the Times on Sunday, saying “their propaganda isn’t even interesting.”
Twitter also has a new policy in place that prohibits its employees from talking to journalists or answering questions on any subject.

Also, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s unreadable.

They would have far more real followers if they only posted their top articles.

Same applies to all publications.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023

The social media company suspended several journalists in December for sharing information about Twitter’s move to suspend accounts that previously shared information about the billionaire’s private jet flights without any prior warning.

Not many are pleased with the decisions Musk has taken since he acquired Twitter in October. He promised to promote free speech and spearhead key changes that will make Twitter “the most trusted place on the internet.”

Some users feel the company has deviated from the vision Musk had before buying it as the move to remove key information distinguishing previously legacy verified accounts and those starting to use the new paid-for blue badges.

This according to The Post, will make it challenging to distinguish between legitimate and fake account holders.
Fake accounts and online trolls started altering their usernames and profile pictures to mimic famous personalities, businesses, and political figures on the platform.

One tweet from one of the fake accounts, mimicking the Times already posted saying “Sources inside Twitter say that Elon Musk is petty,” adding several expletives.

Even though the main Times Twitter account does not have a verification icon, the blue check marks continue to appear on its other services.

Some celebrities like LeBron James, who announced to his more than 52 million followers on Friday “welp guess my blue [check mark] will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5” still had their badges.

For a long time, the legacy blue check mark helped users, even journalists like Brian Stelter, a former CNN anchor, verify sources of information, especially when reporting on breaking news.

“That doesn’t mean you rush right to air with it necessarily, but it made a huge difference,” said Stelter the former host of “Reliable Sources.” “It became shorthand for ‘we know the identity of that source.”

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