Once there were free airways that aired television programming for the cost of an antenna, and broadcasts were loaded with advertisements. When networks migrated to the new cable and satellite subscriptions, it was assumed that the subscription would cover the cost of the service and be ad-free. Not only are there more advertisements than in the past, but different services compete for the consumer’s wallet. With mixed outcomes, news programming has expanded into paid subscription channels.

Elon Musk, one week after acquiring Twitter, is already implementing substantial modifications and testing his ideas for the platform’s improvement and expansion. Not every one of his ideas is met with acclaim.

The founder of SpaceX and Tesla is proposing a modification pertaining to verified users.

The Verge reports that Musk intends to charge users approximately $20 per month for the verified blue check mark, and that the “directive is to change Twitter Blue, the company’s optional, $4.99 a month subscription that unlocks additional features, into a more expensive subscription that also verifies users.”

The assertion was supported by documentation and citations. Although price is subject to change, Twitter Blue is expected to cost customers $19.99. In addition, those who presently have blue check mark verification will have 90 days to join up for Twitter Blue or lose their verification, according to the news source.

“The Twitter Blue subscription launched widely almost a year ago as a way to view ad-free articles from some publishers and make other tweaks to the app, such as a different color home screen icon. In the few quarters that Twitter reported earnings as a public company after that debut, advertising remained the vast majority of its revenue. Musk is keen on growing subscriptions to become half of the company’s overall revenue,” according to the article.

Musk allegedly instructed Twitter employees that they had until the end of the first week of November to make the modification or they would be fired.

In response to a Twitter poll asking people if they would pay for such a service, Elon Musk said, “Interesting.” More than 80 percent of respondents indicated that they would not.

How much would you pay to be verified & get a blue check mark on Twitter?

— [email protected] (@Jason) October 31, 2022

Twitter users replied and expressed their particular complaints; Conservative Brief gathered the following:

Radio host Dana Loesch responded: “That’s the demo that gives Twitter any value by their usage. You don’t penalize your power users, you partner with them. That said, I hope this is a troll and either verify everyone (which will help with bots) or no one.

“Ain’t no one paying for digital indulgences except people who bought into Twitter’s weird treatment of verification for status and not actual verification purposes,” Loesch noted further. “I’d let it lapse if true.”

Social media manager Josh Billinson noted: “It’s gonna be a very funny day on here when 99% of us lose our checks but then we get to know which of you actually thought it was worth paying $20 a month.”

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

“I think it’s a terrible idea on so many levels. The whole idea of verification was to ensure the authenticity of users/protect from fakes. Now, it will be harder to tell if some people or organizations opt out of verification,” writer Katherine Brodsky wrote on Twitter.

“There will be more misinformation on Twitter if @elonmusk requires verified users to pay for their blue badge,” tweeted Max Abrahams, a national security professor. “The main benefit of the badge is it prevents impersonation.” CONTINUE READING…