Susanna Reid defended herself on Twitter after she paid for a blue tick.
Prior to billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition, the blue tick was a free verification symbol provided by the social media platform, and it is currently featured as part of the site’s Twitter Blue premium subscription service.
It costs roughly $8 each month, thus the tick now just indicates that the account has enrolled, but there is a verification step associated with making the money.
Susanna Reid of Good Morning Britain commented after seeing a piece with the title ‘Piers Morgan LOSES Twitter tick as Susanna Reid and Holly Willoughby pay to maintain theirs’.
‘It’s a site I use everyday,’ she answered, sharing a list with a green tick emoji beside each item. I’d like to get my account validated. It’s a membership.’
Those who had a blue tick from the original verification procedure but did not pay the membership cost began losing their ticks last week, while some accounts with over a million followers have had their ticks restored.
Author Stephen King, actor William Shatner, and basketball player LeBron James have all publicly attacked the system but continue to retain their blue ticks, which Elon claims he paid for himself.
The It writer, who has some run-ins with Musk on a number of occasions, wrote: ‘My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.’
Amazingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Musk replied: ‘You’re welcome namaste.’
King later suggested: ‘I think Mr Musk should give my blue check to charity. I recommend the Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. It’s only $8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could add a bit more.’
Meanwhile, the new method is causing some problems, as on Monday it was revealed that the gold tick awarded to companies and organisations that pay $1,000 per month (£800) was handed to a phoney Disney account.
The account @DisneyJuniorUK, which has since been suspended, has no affiliation with the global brand, and was actually started in June 2021 by the user @7virtues_.
As reported by the BBC, had been tweeting ‘vile content’ to its 4,697 followers.
After spotting the gold tick, @DisneyJuniorUK’s owner tweeted: ‘this [sic] isn’t actually real right. someone [sic] pinch me or something.’
Twitter’s blunder then went viral, leading to the account’s suspension.