Marita Moloney
Live reporter

We're going to end our live coverage of the #BlueTicks drama on Twitter now, although the debate over whether to pay or not to pay is likely to continue on the site long after we've logged off.

The decision for Elon Musk to remove the blue badges from previously verified accounts - unless they subscribe to Twitter Blue - led to much discussion in the virtual and real worlds.

Will impersonator accounts proliferate? Will misinformation spread even more? What impact, if any, will this have on Twitter's future?

These are the questions my colleagues and I have been trying to answer, and it's far from a simple yes or no.

Image source, Twitter/PA

But what's certain is that Twitter users will now need to work harder to figure out if someone is actually who they say they are on the site.

You can read Technology Correspondent Zoe Kleinman's full analysis on what this move means for the company here, as well as our news story on the latest developments here.

Today's page was brought to you by my colleagues, Gabriela Pomeroy and Ece Goksedef, and myself in London, with analysis from Zoe Kleinman, Liv McMahon, Shiona McCallum, James Clayton and Marianna Spring. Thanks for joining us.

Musk adds the stick to his carrot of Twitter Bluepublished at 16:37 British Summer Time 21 April 2023

16:37 BST 21 April 2023

Zoe Kleinman
Technology editor

Ironically much of the chat both on and around Twitter today has been about the newly non-verified – who are not supposed to have as much of a voice from now on.

Elon Musk has now added the stick to his carrot of Twitter Blue subscription – yes you get bonus features if you sign up, but if you don’t, you’ll experience lower visibility and see more ads.

Someone who knows Musk well once said to me “never bet against him” - but I’m starting to wonder whether this might be his “metaverse moment”.

Perhaps he should have a quiet word with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who bet the company farm on his vision of a virtual world called the Metaverse and now seems to be pivoting away from it, faced with financial difficulties and general lack of enthusiasm from consumers.

Only Twitter knows how well subscriptions are really selling, and whether Musk’s hard sell is working. The risk he’s taking is that those who don’t want to pay, will vote with their feet and set up camp elsewhere instead.

Liv McMahon
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Alongside celebrities, journalists and football clubs, Twitter’s co-founder and ex-chief executive has also lost his own blue checkmark – suggesting he hasn’t signed up to the subscription service central to Musk’s vision for Twitter 2.0.

Last month marked 17 years since Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams brought the platform to life. Dorsey marked this year’s birthday by retweeting his and Twitter’s first-ever tweet - “just setting up my twttr, external” – sent on 21 March 2006.

Dorsey now seems more preoccupied with Nostr – an open-source protocol used to enable decentralised and “censorship-resistant” social networks that’s popular with Bitcoiners.

And as my colleague Zoe Kleinman notes in her piece looking at whether time’s up for Twitter, he’s also backed Bluesky as a decentralised alternative to the platform.

Laura Gozzi
Live reporter

News, whether true or fake, travels fast on Twitter. That's why in recent years the platform has often been key in amplifying information about developing situations - from extreme weather warnings to mass shootings to terrorist attacks.

Fake news on sensitive topics can therefore have serious real-world consequences.

It's been a day since the blue ticks were removed, and there are already hints that some might exploit the new policy to spread harmful false information under fake profiles.

An account posing as Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - which are currently battling the Sudanese army in a major power struggle - tweeted that its leader, Hemedti, had been killed. This was not true.

Image source, Reuters

Although the account is fake, it does have a blue tick - while the real account does not.

Many of the replies denounced the news as fake, but Twitter's own public metrics indicated the tweet has been seen well oven a million times.

And in New York City, a new handle claimed to be the "authentic Twitter account" representing the local government - it was then suspended and the official account was forced to put out astatement, external.

A lack of verification in such cases could be confusing at best - and dangerous at worst.

So users may now need to dig deeper and look for other clues to spot who is genuine, such as old tweets or a high follower count.

Is it time up for Twitter?published at 15:51 British Summer Time 21 April 2023

15:51 BST 21 April 2023

Zoe Kleinman
Technology editor

It's almost a year to the day that Elon Musk announced that he wanted to buy Twitter.

I've lost count of how many times since then, I've been asked whether Twitter is going to fail - I've always said no. But now, I'm not so sure.

Those who pay, rather than those who are chosen, will now benefit from higher visibility across the platform - so what we will see in the coming days is who the new Twitter crowd really is.

Twitter has not released any figures but one analyst claimed that subscriber numbers appear to be a fraction of its user-base. If user engagement goes down because only some people ever get any virtual airtime, will it simply get boring?

Liv McMahon
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

As well as football, several teams and sports stars from the world of Formula One have had their verified status on Twitter changed in the last 24 hours.

Among them is the Williams Racing team, who lost its verification badge on its account during Musk’s blue tick upheaval.

This morning the account tweeted an image of Williams F1 driver Alex Albon pointing at a gold checkmark and asked Twitter to “can we have it back pls”. They jokily followed this up with a video of Alex to prove it’s really them.

Gold ticks and square profile pictures had featured on many brand and business accounts when they were first rolled out in December, and as of last month the Williams Racing account still had one along with the accounts of other F1 teams like Scuderia Ferrari and MoneyGram Haas.

But gold ticks now mostly appear on business accounts signed up to Twitter’s Verified Organisations scheme – a subscription for verified companies priced at $1,000 a month.

McLaren’s F1 team appears to be among them after tweeting earlier to say they still had theirs, external.

Alasdair Keane
Technology reporter

Image source, Getty Images

In an interview with the BBC last week, Elon Musk said social networks that don’t introduce paid verification won’t be able to deal with bots (accounts operated by computers) on their platforms.

After all, a bot in theory can’t have a cheque book or a phone number to be used in verification. So how do other social media sites verify their users?

Meta, who own Facebook and Instagram allow public figures to apply for a badge but they have to prove their account is notable and meet some requirements to prove their identify.

But the firm is also now trialling a paid system with users in the US, Australia and New Zealand able to pay $14.99 (£12) a month for the honour of a verified badge.

TikTok doesn’t charge for verification and gives badges to business and personal accounts that apply through the app.

They have to meet several factors including having a verified email address and being notable. They say they don’t consider numbers of followers or likes when making a decision.

Shiona McCallum
Senior technology reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount has deleted his Twitter account due to “the platform changing”.

The 24-year-old England international told his fans he was still going to be on other social platforms.

The tweet led to speculation – on Twitter no less – that the move is an indicator that he will soon be leaving the club.

Elsewhere, Manchester City pair Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte called Elon Musk a “crazy dude” and that losing the blue tick was “weird”.

Earlier one of the biggest shocks was Cristiano Ronaldo who lost his blue tick despite being Twitter’s most followed athlete with 108.3m followers.

Most football clubs are now sporting the gold badge as verification, due to being deemed as official organisations.

All except for Lincoln City Football Club’s official account - the club realised that it no longer had a blue tick earlier today.

Liv McMahon
BBC News

Twitter used to have labels in the bios and tweets of government and certain media accounts to give users more context about high-ranking politicians or state-affiliated entities.

President Joe Biden’s account used to have a label describing him as a “United States government official” with a flag icon.

Similarly, the Twitter account of Chinese media organisation CGTN used to have a podium icon and a “China state-affiliated media” label.

But neither account still has this - or any - label.

Like the many blue ticks that Elon Musk removed from “legacy verified” accounts, these labels vanished from the platform last night.

And a Twitter webpage, external that used to provide information about its labels and their purpose appears to no longer exist.

This information, and the labels themselves, may well return in some shape or form in the future, but for now it seems like another change.

Image source, Twitter

Shiona McCallum
Senior technology reporter

Image source, Reuters

Ed Sheeran’s account - Ed Sheeran HQ - seems to be at the top of the celeb hierarchy: He has a gold checkmark, despite those supposedly being for verified businesses, rather than individuals.

Still with their blue verification intact are Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Coldplay – perhaps their teams got the memo about starting to pay for the service.

But the majority of popstars including female chart-toppers Jennifer Lopez, Adele, Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga are without – it will be interesting to see if there’s suddenly rampant impersonation on the platform.

Perhaps it is no surprise that Elon Musk’s former partner Grimes is a Twitter Blue subscriber – one of her latest tweets includes a photo of Thursday’s SpaceX rocket launch, with the caption: "Starships will take us to other worlds.”

Image source, Getty Images

We've been mentioning Twitter-owner Elon Musk a lot today, and the social media company is far from the only one in his vast business portfolio.

Musk is also the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, the electric car maker, since 2008, and rocket company SpaceX.

Musk dropped out of the elite Stanford University in the US to help launch two tech firms - one which he co-founded was PayPal. It was sold to auction giant eBay in 2002 for $1.5bn.

His fortune now is guessed to be worth about $200bn and that puts him as one of the richest people in the world.

When Musk first decided to buy Twitter in 2022, bosses accepted it, then Musk tried to pull out. In the end, the sale - for $44bn - was sorted out just days before a big court battle.

Thousands of staff have been sacked - or quit - since he took over.

Image source, PA Media

Consumer expert Martin Lewis has previously spoken out about paying for Twitter Blue, saying that due to his high profile, he wants to reduce the risk of scammers impersonating him.

The Money Saving Expert founder, who has 2.2 million followers, has explained again today why he's subscribing and shared that some people have unfollowed him as a result.

"To the few tweeting to tell me they're unfollowing because I paid for a blue tick - that is of course ur prerogative, do what u feel is right - but pls there's no need to notify me," he tweeted., external

"I explained why I paid when I did (& it was useful ammunition when pushing Twitter to remove a fake 'verified' account of me)."

James Clayton
North America technology reporter

Being verified means being part of “Twitter Blue”.

What that means is that you get preferential treatment on Twitter’s algorithm. Elon Musk has also said that only verified accounts will be eligible on “For You” recommendations - a key stream of content on Twitter.

That hasn’t happened yet - but the sense of direction is clear.

After interviewing Elon Musk last week, I got mountains of hate from blue tick holders with a handful of followers.

Acting together these trolls can make content go viral more easily with a blue tick.

Conversely, the opposite applies to genuine accounts that don’t want to pay.

Musk is hoping that people already verified will simply switch to a paid subscription, as Twitter becomes increasingly difficult to use for them.

But it’s a huge risk: It could scare off yet more advertisers - and undermine any extra revenue.

Marita Moloney
Live reporter

It's just after lunchtime here in London and 6am in San Francisco, where Twitter HQ is based.

If you're just joining us - or just waking up - welcome to our coverage of the chaos and confusion reigning on Twitter for the past 24 hours.

In less than 280 characters, here's what's happening: Twitter began removing the blue ticks from thousands of accounts yesterday, meaning that unless you pay for it, the badge verifying that you are who you say you are disappears. And there's been a lot of reaction.

Celebrities and public figures have been tweeting about the loss of their blue tick, with many joking about identity crises and the demise of their fame.

"I’m not sure if I’m really me," joked actor and comedian Rick Gervais, which sums up quite well the feeling on the social media platform today.

We've been explaining what this change means, for Twitter users, the spread of misinformation and the future of the platform, so stay with us as we bring you more reaction and analysis.

Marianna Spring
Disinformation and social media correspondent

All this is happening amidst what Twitter insiders have described to me as a culture of chaos and upheaval that puts users at risk of harm.

Mass-lay offs and changes under Elon Musk mean lots of the staff with expertise to deal with the fall-out of this saga - like those who worked in protecting against impersonation, hate and state-backed disinformation campaigns - are no longer at the company.

Twitter's policies say that "defending and respecting the user's voice" remains one of its "core values".

Image source, EPA

Twitter users woke up this morning baffled at the seemingly random way some accounts have blue tick verification - while others don't.

The King Babar Azam Army - the fan page dedicated to the Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam - noted, external that they had a blue tick, while the cricketer himself did not.

The fan page has almost 13,000 followers, compared to the 4.6 million on Azam's actual profile.

"Twitter is such a funny place where [a] fan page has a blue tick but Babar Azam don’t," the King Babar Azam Army account tweeted.

Zoe Kleinman
Technology editor

Lots of people have been amused by the passing of the blue tick.

"Happy losing blue tick day, to all who celebrate," wrote a friend of mine on a group chat yesterday.

Others joked about being "ticked off" and I am almost certain it's the only time I'll ever manage to get the Pope, Beyoncé, Harry Kane and Victoria Beckham into the same sentence for a radio cue.

I suspect they won't mourn their blue ticks and neither will I - you'll just have to take my word for it that I am who I say I am.

But like many others, I'll be keeping a close eye on the new direction the platform takes, in terms of both a work and a social tool.

More reaction now from the high-profile tweeters who lost their blue ticks, many of whom are making light of their newly-minted unverified status.

Singer Charli XCX said: “Officially no longer an officially verified artist. I love being unofficial and unverified. It’s very moi.”

Ciara, the US singer, said "blue check or no check...I know my fans still checkin", while singer-songwriter Finneas tweeted: "FINALLY got rid of the blue check."

The account for Sesame Street character Elmo reassured its more than 400,000 followers by saying: "Elmo will miss you, little blue check mark. But don’t worry everybody, Elmo is still Elmo!

British comedic duo Ant and Dec simply stated: "It's all ticking off!", while UK broadcaster Rylan also joked about the demise of his fame without his blue tick.

Image source, Twitter/@Rylan

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

I've been speaking to Rory Cellan-Jones, a technology writer and consultant, and former BBC technology correspondent, about the removal of blue ticks from verified accounts.

He says “it’s a wild west out there" now on the social media platform.

"The blue tick means nothing. Most official bodies are opting not to use it. It’s part of a general trend where Twitter has become a lot more dangerous," he tells me.

Cellan-Jones pointed to a case of a Nazi Twitter account which currently has a blue tick, and which yesterday posted a tweet praising Hitler.

Late last night, Twitter-owner Elon Musk finished up a hectic day, which didn't just involve his $44bn social media company.

It was also an explosive day for his other firm - SpaceX - whose uncrewed rocket carried out its maiden test flight in Texas.

Two to three minutes into the flight, Starship - the biggest ever developed - started to tumble out of control and was soon destroyed by onboard charges.

Image source, Getty Images

SpaceX engineers still class the mission as a success, and Musk congratulated the team, pledging more tests within a few months.

The flight came on the same day that Twitter began rolling out its changes to verified accounts.

Musk summed up his Thursday, on Twitter of course, external, writing: "Such a great day in so many ways."