Widely circulating rumors suggest that Twitter users may have to pay $20 per month for verification going forwards.
After less than a week as “Chief Twit,” Elon Musk is pushing for the social platform’s first major change – starting with its verification service.
The CEO is reportedly forcing his employees to put a paywall behind Twitter’s coveted blue checkmark. If they don’t comply, they will be fired from the company.
Musk’s plan is specifically to quadruple the cost of Twitter Blue – a monthly subscription service that offers additional features at Twitter – from $4.99 to $19.99. The new, more expensive subscription would also be required to verify its users.
According to The Verge, users who are already verified would be given ninety days to subscribe to Twitter, Blue, or else lose their subscription.
On Sunday, employees were told that the project must be implemented by November 7th, or else they’ll be fired. That same day, Musk clarified that the verification process was already being “revamped.”
American internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis ran a Twitter poll on Sunday asking followers how much they’d be willing to pay to stay subscribed to the platform. After overwhelmingly stating that they “wouldn’t pay”, Musk called the poll “interesting.”
Former Twitter COO Anthony Noto, however, believes the majority of respondents aren’t being entirely honest.
“None of these answers are high enough,” he said.
“People will pay $49/mth & if they won’t they should not have been verified, to begin with.”
Musk promised to combat Twitter’s spam bot problem before assuming company ownership, while also making the platform more welcoming to free speech. He’s already fired the firm’s top executives and is planning more layoffs to come.