For the micro-blogging site Twitter, a blue tick wasn’t just a verification of an authenticated account but was also a hallmark of standard. If you had a Twitter verified account, you must have had two extra ounces of respect on social media. No account on Twitter was taken seriously without a blue tick. Hence it was very obvious for all VIPs in the world to possess a verified Twitter account to get segregated from a number of parody accounts.
Soon after Twitter announced a blue tick for $8 per month a few months back, it started having repercussions as parody accounts of renowned pharmaceutical and shoe brands got blue ticks and made crazy announcements. Now that the micro-blogging site had already announced charges for blue tick, they’ve enacted the same from Thursday onwards and the results are surprising. Who would have thought Shahrukh Khan or Virat Kohli will have an unverified Twitter account someday!
These celebs lost blue tick
Top India sports stars, including the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and double Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu, have lost the blue checkmarks that helped verify their identity on the micro-blogging site Twitter.
The legacy blue checkmarks were previously granted to journalists, public officials, and celebrities for free as a measure against impersonation and spam on social media platforms.
“Tomorrow, 4/20, we are removing legacy verified checkmarks,” the official Twitter Verified account tweeted on Wednesday.
Apart from the above trio, World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal, Neeraj Chopra, and Bajrang Punia, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, two-time World Boxing Champion Nikhat Zareen, Sania Mirza, Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri, men’s hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh were among a plethora of Indian sporting icons who have lost their blue ticks.
Among the political leaders, Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Arvind Kejriwal, and many more have lost their blue ticks. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s account also seems to be unverified without a blue tick.
Also, tennis greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, and basketball legend Stephen Curry are no longer “verified” on the social media platform.
The Twitter Blue subscription is available for a monthly fee of Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices.
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