Twitter Verification Coming for All (Those Who Pay $20)

Elon Musk has been busy since he took the reins at Twitter on Thursday, Oct. 27. Just before it was official, he brought a sink to HQ, then he fired some top executives, made plans to layoff more staff, and some other employees who remain apparently have about a week to make the changes he wants to the Twitter Blue subscription or they, too, will be looking for new employment.

According to The Verge, Musk has given a directive to make Twitter Blue — the $4.99 monthly subscription offering that provides additional features in the platform — pricier and among other changes, it will serve as a means to obtain verification. But buying into the blue check mark comes at quadruple the subscription’s initial cost: $19.99. Per the new plan, verified accounts will have 90 days to subscribe to Twitter Blue or lose their blue check marks.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.

While Musk did not provide details on if the program will implement the changes that have been reported, he did confirm that the verification process will not continue the way it has in the past. “The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” he tweeted on Sunday.

The self-described “Chief Twit,” per his Twitter bio, appears to be enjoying the negative attention his newly acquired position is bringing. When Jimmy Kimmel called him a “fully-formed piece of shit” after Musk pushed a conspiracy theory about the assault on Paul Pelosi, Musk simply responded with a sad emoji. And around when news broke over the weekend that more layoffs would soon ensue under his reign, he discussed the virtue of carbs.