Elon Musk gives out free blue checkmarks to famous accounts on X (formerly Twitter), but the badges are a pain to sell

As part of a campaign to increase the use of subscription plans underway on Twitter, X users with many followers of verified accounts were given a free blue checkmark 'verification badge.' Some users, who saw the blue checkmark appear next to their name whether they liked it or not, are expressing confusion and feeling that it's none of their business.

X's 'complimentary' Premium push gives people blue checks they didn't ask for - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/3/24120602/x-free-premium-verified-blue-checkmark

Elon Musk, the owner of X, announced that in March 2024, he would offer 'Premium' to accounts with 2,500 followers who subscribe to a paid subscription plan, and 'Premium Plus' for free to accounts with 5,000 or more followers.

Going forward, all accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2024

Then, starting around April 3, 2024, multiple X users reported that they were seeing a blue checkmark verification badge next to their username, even though they were not subscribed to a paid subscription.

According to Peter Kafka, editor-in-chief of the IT news blog Recode, the affected users received a message saying, 'We have offered a free subscription to X Premium to influential members of the X community in accordance with the X Premium terms and conditions.'

This is the note they sent me pic.twitter.com/tXffJnBLqd

— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) April 4, 2024

Reactions of famous X users to the distribution of verification badges were mixed. One user posted a happy post saying, 'The blue check mark is a sign of reliability,' and 'I enabled DMs only for verified followers, and the spam stopped overnight, and I started receiving message requests only from real users.' Musk also responded to this post, saying, 'That's right.'

A blue checkmark is a stamp of authenticity

this is obvious when comparing 'Verified followers' and regular 'Followers' tabs (on all profiles)

it became even more obvious when I enabled verified-only DMs, the spam stopped overnight and only get message requests from real users

— Tom (@tblckn) April 4, 2024

But some users were unhappy, with one writing: 'Damn, I was forced to get the blue check. How do I opt out?' Others lamented : 'Oh no,' while others emphasized : 'The blue check mark is back but I want to be clear that I did not pay E○n M○k for this.'

My blue check is back and I just want to make it clear I am not paying El*n M*sk for this thanks very much

— Lauren Goode (@LaurenGoode) April 3, 2024

Before Musk bought Twitter, the blue verified badge was a type of status typically given to high-profile individuals such as celebrities, politicians, and journalists.

However, with the paid plan rolled out after Musk's acquisition, anyone could purchase a verified badge if they paid, but even people who were previously verified would have their badge revoked if they refused to sign up for the paid plan. Despite this, Musk has unilaterally distributed verified badges to celebrities such as novelist Stephen King, including accounts of people who have already died, which has led to news media reporting that 'deceased celebrities have joined Twitter Blue from under their graves.'

Twitter announces that it will resume 'Twitter Blue,' a service that allows users to buy verified badges, on December 12th, and subscriptions from iOS apps will increase in price - GIGAZINE