Twitter has reinstated the blue tick verification badges of some Twitter accounts with over one million followers without them paying to subscribe. Celebrities such as Beyoncé, Harry Kane, Richard Osman, and Victoria Beckham have had their blue ticks returned. The BBC News Twitter account also has its gold badge again, but it has not paid for it. Originally, the blue tick was a free badge of verification given by Twitter to help stop fake accounts and the spread of misinformation. However, the blue tick now signifies an account has subscribed to a premium service called Twitter Blue, which has a verification process attached to the payment. Various prices are available depending on the subscription’s location, but it is around $8 per month. Twitter accounts that had a blue tick from the original verification process but decided not to pay the subscription fee began losing their ticks on 20 April. However, some accounts, including those with fewer than 1 million followers, appear to have had their blue ticks restored at Elon Musk’s discretion. Twitter Blue has had a troubled launch, with fake accounts pretending to be official organisations and subscribers and formerly verified accounts looking the same.
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