New Twitter CEO Elon Musk confirmed the social media platform’s verified check system will cost $8 per month after he was seen leaving his mother’s New York City apartment after Heidi Klum’s Halloween party.
Musk, who also serves as CEO of Space X, was seen wearing his “Occupy Mars” T-shirt as he left his mother’s home to head to Twitter’s New York City headquarters for the second day after his $44 billion takeover.
Walking around his new business, Musk explained his plan for Twitter’s verified system on the social media platform itself.
“Twitter’s current lords & pawns system of who has or doesn’t have a blue tick is bullshit,” wrote the new Chief Twit. ‘Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.’
A blue tick allows other Twitter users to verify that other users are who they say they are.
Musk added that those who sign up for the system will receive “priority in replies, mentions and searches, which is important to defeat spam/fraud, the ability to post long video and audio, half the number of ads and paywall bypass for publishers who are willing to work with us.’
The world’s richest man previously considered a $20 a month fee for blue tick verification, but appeared to lower the cost after criticism from horror author Stephen King.
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk was pictured leaving his mother’s home in New York City to head back to Twitter’s NYC offices
It was Chief Twit’s second visit to the office this week following his $44 billion takeover
During his trip, Musk confirmed on Twitter that access to its verified program will go from free to $8 per month
The decision came after backlash over his plans to start the subscription fee, with celebrities including horror author Stephen King among the vocal critics of a previously proposed $20-a-month fee
Pictured: Musk followed his security detail Tuesday as he entered the back of Twitter’s NYC headquarters
Musk, dressed in red Samurai armor, appeared at Heidi Klum’s 21st Annual Halloween Party at the Moxy Hotel on Monday
Musk wants to make good on his promise to make the social media platform profitable by introducing a fee for Twitter users who want to keep their verification badge.
His plan to reportedly charge $20 a month, however, appeared to sit well with King, who tweeted: ‘$20 a month to keep my blue check? F*** it, they should pay me,’ wrote King, who has 6.9 million followers. “If it gets set up, I’m gone like Enron.”
Musk replied: ‘We have to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers.
“How about $8” he asked, which seems to be the price he’s settled on.
King is not the only blue-tick Twitter user to threaten to abandon his blue ticks if a fee is introduced on the platform.
Author Stephen King said he will quit Twitter if Musk charges a $20 per month fee to keep his blue check
Author Stephen King, who wrote The Shining, said he will leave the platform if Musk faces a blue-tick verification fee
Musk appeared to haggle with the horror writer, hinting at the $8 price he ultimately settled on
Musk is pictured leaving his mother’s house in New York City, wearing an “Occupy Mars” T-shirt as he walked with his security detail
Actress, author and comedian Kathy Burke also said she wouldn’t pay, tweeting: “Musk can screw with his idea of charging blue tickers. I’m giving everything to this hell site for FREE.
“Sassy b**** should pay ME,” she added. “Don’t need that poxy anyway.”
Celebrities who have threatened to boycott the site include TV screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, actress Mia Farrow, as well as Madam Secretary star Téa Leoni, She Hulk actor Jameela Jamil, and writers and activists Shaun King and Amy Siskind.
George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, also said he would consider heading towards the digital door.
Entrepreneur Jason Calacanis posted a poll on Monday asking people if they would pay $5, $10 or $15 per month, or nothing for verification. About 81 percent said they would not pay, as of Tuesday.
“Interesting,” Musk said in response to the vote.
Critics have derided the badge, which is often given to celebrities, politicians, business executives and journalists, as an elite status symbol.
But Twitter also uses the blue tick to verify activists and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the world, as an additional tool to curb disinformation coming from accounts purporting to be persons.
English actress, writer and comedian Kathy Burke also said she would not pay if a fee is introduced on the platform
Musk appears to have taken Monday’s criticism from the public to heart when he opted to lower the proposed blue badge cost after his jaunt to Klum’s main Halloween party.
The world’s richest man was pictured arriving at the party in a red samurai-style suit as reports emerge that he is preparing to cut close to 2,000 Twitter jobs, representing around 25 per cent of its workforce.
Musk looked triumphant as he posed on the red carpet in his armor, with street clothes still visible underneath. It’s not clear what Musk would be wearing for Klum’s celebration
According to the website of high-end costume shop, Abracadabra NYC, Musk’s outfit is the Devil’s Champion-Leather Armor set, which retails for $7,500. At the time of writing, the website says there is only one costume left in stock.
The billionaire’s mother, Maye, was also present at the party and inside Twitter’s offices on West 17th Street.
Musk arrives with his mother, Maye, at Klum’s annual bash in New York’s Lower East Side neighborhood
It’s not clear what Musk would be wearing for Klum’s celebration
Twitter restricts certain content moderation tools just days before midterms
Days after Elon Musk took over Twitter and just before the midterms in America, the social media has limited some content moderation tools.
That can hamper staff’s ability to stop misinformation, as they won’t be able to manually amend or penalize accounts.
The change is the latest to be implemented by Musk and comes after he made significant staff cuts and fired the Twitter board, making himself the sole member.
Those working in Twitter’s Trust and Safety organization are currently unable to modify or penalize accounts that violate the platform’s rules on misleading information, offensive posts and hate speech.
According to insiders on the matter, they can only punish people who make posts that violate Twitter’s rules to the extent that they harm the real world, according to Bloomberg.
They added that the team manually maintained these posts.
The change is the latest to be implemented by Musk, pictured at Twitter HQ, and comes after he made significant staff cuts and fired the Twitter board, making himself the sole member
At Twitter, staff have dashboards, called agent tools, to ban or suspend accounts that have violated policy.
Policy violations may be detected automatically or flagged by other Twitter users.
However, only Twitter employees can delete or suspend accounts using the dashboard.
But the tools have been out of service since last week, according to insiders.
This restriction is said to have been put in place as Twitter transitions to Musk ownership in an attempt to stop changes to the app requested by employees.
Sources at the company who asked to remain anonymous revealed that the high level of access to the tools given to employees has dropped from hundreds to just 15.
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