Elon Musk Backs Out for ‘Legacy Checkmark’ Cleanup, Platform’s Biggest Celebrities Reaffirm
After about two days of purging “legacy tick marks,” Twitter CEO Elon Musk appears to be waving the white flag.
On Twitter on Saturday, some of the platform’s biggest names, from Stephen King to Chrissy Teigen, expressed surprise when their erratic chins suddenly reappeared.
“Friends told me that my blue certified check was recovered. do not know why. I haven’t paid anything. I didn’t give a number,” tweeted Seinfeld star Jason Alexander.
It appeared that Musk had only restored the blue checks to users with the highest number of followers, apparently addressing a problem that has plagued the platform since he made the decision to introduce his $8-a-month Twitter Blue verification system.
Musk̵[ads1]7;s decision on Thursday to finally make good on his promise to only verify those who paid the fee threw the platform into chaos, with the mass deverification opening the door to a number of celebrity impostor accounts.
Still, in classic Musk fashion, Chief Twit first attempted to make his capitulation as an epic troll.
“I will pay for your blue check – my gift to you,” Musk tweeted in response to a thread in which former Labor Secretary Robert Reich rejected his blue check and condemned “the oligarchs who have too much power over the Internet.”
Musk later tweeted “check buddy.”
However, the move appeared to be much more far-reaching than just a joke against those who had criticized the verification system.
From Pope Francis to former President Donald Trump, many notables who had not waded into the blue check debacle also saw their confirmations restored after briefly losing them.
As the checks poured in again, many celebrities who were vocal about their decision not to pay the $8, let their followers know that the restoration was not their doing.
“Good lord, I have been LeBroned, Shatnered, Kinged without my consent. No means no, guys,” tech journalist Kara Swisher tweeted.
Tiegen even offered his followers advice on how to get rid of the pesky mark, instructing Pod Save America host Jon Favreau, “change your name and it triggers a removal of the chin. But then don’t talk about it again or do you get another one. I seriously lol.”
Still, many others from Malala Yousafazi to Charlie Sheen were just happy to see their confirmation return.
“I don’t know what happened but I’m happy to have my blue chin back so everyone knows I’m still Malala,” the girls’ education activist tweeted.
What will happen next in the Elon-Twitter saga is anyone’s guess, but it seems abundantly clear that Musk isn’t even close to being in control of all of this.
