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Twitter's blue ticks start vanishing
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Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through a magnifier in this illustration taken on October 27, 2022. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic)
T
witter began the mass removal of its blue ticks on Thursday, as the symbol previously used to signify a verified account vanished from users including the Pope, Donald Trump and Justin Bieber.
Owner Elon Musk, who has seen his $44 billion investment in the site shrivel, earlier pledged to get rid of what he described as a "lords & peasants system."
He offered instead to sell the blue badge to anyone who would pay $8 a month, in a move he said last year would "democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people."
Earlier dates set for the rollback of the ticks -- predominately used by celebrities, journalists and politicians -- have slipped by without noticeable action.
But on Thursday high-profile accounts, as well as those of many reporters at AFP and other news organizations, appeared to have had the checkmarks removed.
Politicians and official bodies also appeared to have been hit, with US Senator Brian Schatz objecting to the possible effect on public confidence in the event of disasters.
"There really ought to be a way for emergency managers to verify that they are real on this website or imposters will cause suffering and death," he tweeted.
