Elon Musk removes the label of ‘government-financed media’ from public communication channels such as RTVE, NPR and BBC, but also from China’s Xinhua and Russia’s RT

Goodbye blue verification stamps to old users who have refused to pay for Twitter Blue. After false alarms, during the afternoon and night of Thursday, the blue profile badges of thousands of people have disappeared, including that of celebrities and politicians, such as Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian, who had their personality verified . And that blue mark only appears next to the profiles of those who have paid for the subscription. Of course, the platform has not removed the symbol from everyone who does not pay; It seems that Elon Musk has chosen who could continue to benefit from the service for free. Between indignant and joking tweets, celebrity users have been identified who have not disappeared, even those who openly declared that they would not pay for the subscription.

Best-selling writer Stephen King is one of them. During yesterday afternoon, he assured that he had not subscribed, nor had he shared his phone number, as his account claims. A little later, Elon Musk replied “you’re welcome”, suggesting that he himself would be paying for the badge. It is also maintained by Star Treck actor William Shatner and NBA heartthrob LeBron James, one of the most critical celebrities paying for Twitter Blue (as confirmed by The Verge, James has never paid). Of course, he received an email from a Twitter employee stating “to extend a free Twitter Blue subscription for his account, @kingjames, on behalf of Elon Musk.”

The withdrawal of verification also affects companies. During the morning of Friday, some advertisers on the social network have received a communication from the company assuring that, as of today, the accounts “must have the blue badge or subscribe to the Twitter Blue or Verified Organizations plan to keep putting ads on Twitter.” This version for companies has a cost of 1,000 dollars per month (about 910 euros), and an additional 50 dollars, also per month, for each affiliate account that is added.

Amid the buzz from celebrities and verifications, Twitter finally removed the “government-funded media” labels it had added to profiles for RTVE and Britain’s BBC. Also from the American NPR and the Canadian CBC that, at the beginning of the week, paused their activity on the platform after the imposition of these labels, which initially only applied to propaganda media from countries where freedom of expression is in question, like the Russian RT or the Chinese agency Xinhua. Twitter has also removed the “China state-affiliated media” label from Xinhua News accounts, as well as from journalists associated with Chinese government-backed publications. <Russian propaganda sites such as RT (whose account is suspended in the EU) or Tass have also stopped displaying the warning.

Mission accomplished. While everyone was distracted by his blue-check removals, Musks’s Twitter deleted labels that alerted users that they were reading news from state-run propaganda outlets of authoritarian governments. Potemkin news channels now free to inject disinformation. pic.twitter.com/2gHHXqyc8s

— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) April 21, 2023

Until then, editorially independent outlets such as the BBC, PBS and NPR were exempt from a similar rating. Twitter’s initial label for these Western networks was “government funded” and later “publicly funded.” Currently, many media outlets have a gold seal unilaterally granted by the platform to what it considers to be an “official commercial account in verified Twitter Organizations”.

Twitter Blue has a cost in Spain of 7 euros per month if you opt for an annual plan, and 8 euros in a monthly plan, as long as the subscription is made from its website. Those users who wish to contract the blue seal from their mobile devices, Android or iOS, will have to pay 11 euros. And it won’t be available to everyone. Only accounts registered for a minimum of 90 days will be able to access this product, which is activated through a confirmation phone number and payment.