X Is Bringing Back Blue Ticks For Top Influential Users

Date: April 04, 2024

X, the social media platform acquired by Elon Musk last year, is bringing back the blue tick factor by giving it to a new list of top influencers.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were the top three platforms showcasing verified profiles with a blue tick. Twitter removed this feature after Elon Musk took over the company last year. Elon Musk claimed the previous blue-tick-giving system was flawed, biased, and corrupt. The legacy blue check was removed from all user accounts on April 1, 2023, making April Fool’s Day relatable for those who lost it.

The blue tick is now returning to the platform, backed by a new process of either getting it organically or buying it. For users who have more than 2500 verified followers on X, the platform will bestow them with a free blue tick. If someone wants to get the blue tick without 2500 verified followers, they can do it by paying a monthly retainer fee of $8.

“Some personal news: I’m now a serial small business founder in Arizona who posts about fatherhood, faith, and what it takes to get a roofing company to $100 million ARR,” former BuzzFeed editor Tom Gara posted on X after getting the newly minted blue tick on his handle.

An interesting response received from this endeavor is that many users are frantically posting on their handles about their blue tick being given to them organically. “This is punishment for posting too much,” said Katie Notopoulos, Senior correspondent at Business Insider.

Before the age of paid blue ticks, Twitter gave blue ticks to verified and influential public figures who were highly likely to be impersonated. This distinction helped the general public know which account to follow based on the blue tick’s authenticity. In the age of paid blue ticks, knowing this is nearly impossible.

X has also rolled out a set of privileges that organically acquired blue tick accounts will get. These benefits do not help public users distinguish the original from the paid ones. Account owners with 2500 verified subscribers will unlock Premium features, and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium Plus for free.

The blue tick's original purpose seems to be diminishing with this new scheme. Unless you verify that an account does not have 2500 Premium subscribers following it, there is no way to tell a paid blue tick apart. What the platform wants to achieve from this effort will only be revealed as time unfolds.