Twitter has officially removed the blue badge from legacy verified profiles. All celebrities and other high-profile figures will have to subscribe to Twitter Blue for $8 monthly to be verified again.
Following his acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, Elon Musk revamped the verification process on the micro-blogging platform by announcing an optional paid verification plan that unlocks additional features for users.
Twitter had given verified users till April 1, 2023, to sign up for Twitter Blue and retain their verification but the deadline was later extended to Thursday, April 20 due to criticisms and low compliance, presumably.
As of yesterday evening, Twitter was thrown into turmoil as some of the most well-known and widely followed people on the social network lost their verification badges.
The blue checks even disappeared from the accounts of Nigerian singers, Davido, Burna Boy, and Wizkid.
Checks by our correspondent also showed that the verification badges on the Twitter accounts of some government agencies including the official account of the Ministry of Interior, the Government of Nigeria, and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture were removed without being replaced by the grey badges Twitter has designated for government accounts.
Prof. Isa Pantami, the minister of communications and digital economy, Vice President Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, President-elect Bola Tinubu, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, and 2023 presidential aspirants Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar also lost their blue check marks.
In the clampdown of legacy blue ticks, Twitter stripped over 400,000 users of their verification badges.
However, some of the affected users who are now required to pay $8 per month for Twitter Blue, an advanced verification badge, have insisted that they’re not paying a penny to the renowned world billionaire while some have threatened to boycott the micro-blogging site.
- Nigeria’s Inflation Falls to 18.02% in September - October 16, 2025
- Osimhen Fires Nigeria into 2026 World Cup African Playoffs - October 14, 2025
- FG Approves New Admission Criteria for Tertiary Institutions - October 14, 2025