Twitter CEO Elon Musk has changed his mind on the social media platform’s “blue checkmark” so many times it can be hard to keep track. But the billionaire’s latest move is the most perplexing.

Musk stripped “legacy” checkmarks from notable Twitter accounts on Thursday before he started doling them out like a badge of shame to celebrities who didn’t want them. Stephen King, LeBron James and Jason Alexander were just a few of the people who received a free checkmark after very publicly saying they wouldn’t pay $8 per month to keep a meaningless symbol.

Even Twitter’s legendary comedy account Dril was given a checkmark several times on Saturday, with the pseudonymous comedian constantly changing his name on the platform in an effort to get rid of the checkmark. Dril, however, continued to be branded the blue check and finally accepted this fate.

On Saturday afternoon, something still more bizarre began to occur. The Twitter team started offering free checkmarks to anyone who had a big following of roughly one million or more followers. Only problem? By doing that, Musk has given checkmarks to people who’ve died. And when you click on the blue checkmark on their profiles it not only says they’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue, it says they’ve handed over their phone number.

Who is the owner of those Twitter accounts Musk desecrated with his cringeworthy act? Below I’ve collected a list of notable figures—the estates of which might have a problem with the fact that Musk is using their dormant accounts to imply they endorse his product.

Checkmarks on Twitter used to signify that the user’s identity had been confirmed. This feature was introduced after Tony La Russa, the baseball legend who sued the company in 2009 for an impersonator. But Twitter doesn’t verify anyone’s identity anymore, meaning a checkmark is nothing more than a status symbol. The mark is now a dunce’s cap, or a status symbol, considering what it has become in only a few days.

Musk set up an automatic response that is sent to all journalists, which was used by Twitter to respond to late-Saturday questions.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was a basketball star who passed away in a helicopter collision in 2020. blue checkmark.

Anthony Bourdain

A blue checkmark has been given to Anthony Bourdain who passed away in 2018. You can check …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

Author: Aaron