We’ve been having a lot of fun with the prolonged meltdown of liberals losing their blue checks, but let’s take a moment to cut through the fog and talk about what this is really about.
It’s not the fear of impersonation. Twitter still has a policy against impersonation that applies whether you have a blue check or not. And any famous person can just pin a video to the top of their feed that says ‘I’m so-and-so and @_______ is my Twitter handle. No other account is really me.’ Problem solved.
And, certainly, for celebrities or corporate accounts, it isn’t about the cost. LeBron James didn’t need Elon Musk’s help to buy a blue check and a corporate account with any income to speak of is unlikely to have a similar problem. It’s just $8 a month.
This is about wanting Twitter to fail under Elon Musk because they hate the way he has made the platform fairer. They don’t want Twitter to have the extra income and one group is trying to deny to the new blue checks one of the benefits of the program: greater reach.
Thus, a movement called ‘Block the Blue’ (often using the hashtag #BlockTheBlue) has sprung up where people would block every blue check they come across.
my verified notifications had been broken since yesterday and just now switched to a page to sign up for Twitter Blue
imo that tab was supposed to be a bonus for subscribers to get their replies more reach but they realized it was just becoming a curated feed for #BlockTheBlue pic.twitter.com/Fy9C7DnNAo
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) April 22, 2023
new from me: some of Twitter's most popular accounts are going full steam ahead with #BlockTheBlue, a campaign to block all users paying $8 to Elon Musk for a blue checkmark@dril, @Eve6, and @BlockTheBlue tell me why they block the blue: https://t.co/FfB8bpzfIg
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) April 21, 2023
Most popular? Only one of them cracks a million followers.
In any case, this is where the trolling started:
NEWS: Twitter trolls the “Block The Blue” movement by giving their biggest proponents Twitter Blue. pic.twitter.com/lpgeTE3giN
— T(w)itter Daily News (@TitterDaily) April 22, 2023
hahahahahahahaha Elon Musk actually did it
LeBron James, Stephen King, Matt Binder pic.twitter.com/SPonbG21OO
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) April 22, 2023
He even insisted he didn’t really pay for it:
proof i’m not paying pic.twitter.com/QcniUMaF1m
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) April 22, 2023
Methinks he protests too much.
— Big Jeff (@bigjeffd) April 22, 2023
Sorry bro, thems the rules. pic.twitter.com/tV49FAcIgU
— BROPOTKIN™️ by blackhart 🔆 (@peterbropotkin) April 22, 2023
I don’t like this either, Matt. Get yourself clean and then we’ll follow you again pic.twitter.com/4EEJloSVOq
— J.Stokes (@JohnFrancisStok) April 22, 2023
I’m sorry Matt, but it needs to be done. pic.twitter.com/HZZ2V1pTcU
— Garrett 🧛 (@Garzard27) April 22, 2023
Unfollow.
— Mayur Bhatnagar (@mayurzzz) April 22, 2023
Hahaha you are the butt of the joke.
— tr3ndyasfcku (@tr3ndyasfcku) April 22, 2023
This is so incredibly funny
— Merrick 🦂 (@punishedmother) April 22, 2023
Elon buys a check for some celebs now celebs can buy their checks without compromising on their virtue signal by claiming that Elon bought it for them. It’s a genius move.
— xHearshot💥 (@xHearshot) April 22, 2023
So it seems that changing your name to "I don't want this checkmark" and changing it back gets rid of it.
— Alejandra Caraballo 🏳️⚧️🇵🇷 (@Esqueer_) April 22, 2023
She is literally confusing an automated process of review with permanent removal. Whenever you change your name on Twitter, Twitter removes the blue check automatically, to make sure a blue check doesn’t impersonate anyone else. The check will probably return in a day or two.
He's an incredibly petty man baby.
I was blocking blue checks in his replies and suddenly I was logged out and my account removed from the app. I had to change my password and re-add my account. It's incredibly funny how childish he is. Actually wish he had just banned me. 🤣
— El Canaco (@ElCanaco) April 22, 2023
False endorsement is not funny. If you folks let him do this, it's setting a TERRIBLE precedent for social networks misrepresenting their users. 😑
— F. I. N. C. H. (@ItIsFinch) April 22, 2023
He’s right. They should quit Twitter entirely in protest.
He forced his putrid checkmark on Meidas Touch as well. 😒 pic.twitter.com/bDmyd7R0dP
— յﻨllყ.ოձƈĸ🍦🐝🌐 (@JillMack30) April 22, 2023
The richest man in the world is spending his Saturday giving ticks to people who specifically said they do not want a tick.
— Arkenor (@Arkenor) April 22, 2023
Just in case I have to post this! pic.twitter.com/ffgLQsBiwh
— Brian Marcelo (@BrianMarcelo) April 22, 2023
And apparently, this might mess with a computer program.
So right now there's a massive wave of ppl pushing the #Blocktheblue movement, which is where twitter users use an app to block everyone who has paid for twitter blue. Captain free speech Elon Musk has banned the Blocktheblue account & removed all mentions from twitter trending. pic.twitter.com/S7oRnOY1kP
— Dusty Smith (@cultofdusty1) April 22, 2023
In any case, allegedly most legacy users got good news:
It seems most legacy users are getting their Blue verification back.
— T(w)itter Daily News (@TitterDaily) April 22, 2023
And Elon Musk denies that he is being a troll:
Elon responds https://t.co/lYXtNbAr7h
— T(w)itter Daily News (@TitterDaily) April 22, 2023
But T(w)itter Daily News has the goods on Musk:
And changes location to “trollheim” pic.twitter.com/K7ZsRWXwy3
— T(w)itter Daily News (@TitterDaily) April 22, 2023
And, of course, the hilarity goes on:
BREAKING: Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (@Jack) is no longer Verified pic.twitter.com/dDQRgVGkCN
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) April 20, 2023
Ok everyone. Twitter has removed my verification. I will no longer be posting on this app. Anyone who posts as me is an imposter. I wish you all well.
— jason alexander (@IJasonAlexander) April 21, 2023
Seriously, did anyone care what Jason Alexander said on Twitter? We literally don’t remember him saying anything interesting.
Friends told me my blue verified check was restored. Dont know why. I've paid nothing. I gave no number. @StephenKing reported same. My account remains so no one steals the account name. And I can tell you this madness hasn't happened on Insta or Spoutible.
— jason alexander (@IJasonAlexander) April 22, 2023
Did he say it was madness?
But not every celebrity has been having a meltdown over the blue check. Lynda Carter, the O.G. Wonder Woman, decided to have fun with it:
No blue check mark? Okay, we’ll settle this the old-fashioned way. pic.twitter.com/GIPI1DoF3d
— Lynda Carter (@RealLyndaCarter) April 20, 2023
Before you ask: yes, there truly is a Wonder Woman moment for everything.
— Lynda Carter (@RealLyndaCarter) April 20, 2023
Finally, Yair Rosenburg makes a good point…
Remember, there was never any such thing as a blue check mark in the first place. Now it's just official. pic.twitter.com/Fuy9rZ96X0
— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) April 20, 2023
Sure, get technical…
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