Just as Elon Musk promised, Twitter has finally killed the legacy blue checkmark, removing the symbol (at least mostly) from across the social media platform.
April 20 was supposed to be the final day for the legacy checkmark after Twitter kicked off the removal process earlier this month. The company appears to have come through, erasing the checkmark from numerous accounts, including those for celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Hillary Clinton, and Star Wars actor Mark Hamill.
Thus marks an end of an era for Twitter, which originally used the badges to help the public identify legitimate accounts belonging to celebrities, politicians, journalists, and businesses. The legacy checkmarks were given out for free, but generally reserved for famous or notable people.
However, Musk is no fan of the legacy checkmark. “The way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical,” he tweeted in December. Instead, he opened up the verification badge to anyone—so long as they pay for it through an $8-per-month Twitter Blue subscription.
For months now, Musk has also been warning the end is nigh for the legacy checkmark, likely in an attempt to drive more users to sign up for Twitter Blue. However, many celebrities have balked at paying up —which became apparent today as the legacy checkmark met its end.
“So sad…am I…still me?” tweeted the comedian Jon Stewart, who lost his legacy checkmark.
In a bit of irony, other users are celebrating its demise, since the verified badge check could also imply you paid for Twitter Blue. “Good riddance; I was embarrassed it was still there,” tweeted computer scientist Grady Booch.
On the flip side, the end of the legacy checkmark makes clear which users are subscribing to Twitter Blue. Meanwhile, other celebrities, including LeBron James and Stephen King still have their blue checkmarks, despite both saying they’d never pay for it. Musk has now tweeted: "I’m paying for a few (Twitter Blue subscriptions) personally."
In the meantime, the loss of the legacy checkmark is raising fears about fraudsters buying access to Twitter Blue to impersonate celebrities. That’s what happened back in November when the company first began selling access to verified badges.
In response, Twitter created gold and silver checkmarks for accounts belonging to government institutions, media outlets, and politicians to help them stand out from potential imposters. But not every government agency has received them. So users should exercise some caution and check the profile’s handle and follower count to get a sense if it’s legit.