(Reuters) – Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, said on Monday that the social media company has halted the relaunch of its blue-check subscription service, a delay from the initial tentative timetable for bringing the service back on the platform.
“Delaying the relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence that impersonation will stop,” Musk said in a tweet.
“You’ll probably use different color-checking for organizations than for individuals.”
The coveted blue checkmark was previously reserved for verified accounts of politicians, famous personalities, journalists, and other public figures.
But the subscription option, open to anyone willing to pay, was rolled out earlier this month to help Twitter boost revenue while Musk struggles to retain advertisers. Read more
Twitter has suspended its recently announced $8 blue check subscription service as fake accounts have proliferated and said the blue check subscription service requested by Twitter will be relaunched on November 29.
Musk also tweeted that Twitter added 1.6 million users in the past week, “another all-time high.”
Advertisers on Twitter, including major companies such as General Motors, Mondelez International and Volkswagen, have paused advertising on the platform, while they grapple with the new boss. Read more
Hundreds of Twitter employees are also estimated to have quit last week, past Musk’s Thursday deadline for employees to sign up for “long hours at high intensity,” or leave. Read more
Additional reporting by Akriti Sharma and Gopi Babu in Bengaluru; Edited by Rashmi Aish
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