Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
In a bid to keep the lights on at Twitter, billionaire and CEO of multiple companies Elon Musk has asked Stephen King if he would be willing to pay $8 a month for the privilege of a blue checkmark. This latest development only adds to the hilarious story of Twitter’s plans to charge users $20 a month to be verified.
On October 30, 2022, Stephen King took to Twitter to share a sentiment many users are feeling in regards to the company’s recent plans. “Fuck that, they should pay me,” writes King at the idea he pay $20 USD per month to have a blue checkmark beside his name – Twitter’s method of signifying a verified account.
Elon Musk, never one to miss an opportunity to tweet, replied to King asking if he would be willing to pay $8 a month. Musk also notes that the reason for this new cost to users is, “We need to pay the bills somehow!” He follows this up by explaining that this is the “only way to defeat the bots and trolls”.
Thankfully, users will receive an explanation from Musk before this is implemented. He plans to explain in a rationale in a longer form the exact reasoning behind this decision. There’s a chance we’ll hear about this reasoning rather soon, especially if the rumors are true that the developers responsible for the update are to be fired if they don’t hit the November 7 deadline.
Much like Stephen King, other noteworthy users have expressed their displeasure with the platform now that Musk is in charge. The seemingly omniscient Nibel, known for reporting on breaking video game news, has quit Twitter citing that he does not “trust Musk and his seemingly infinite immaturity”. If Stephen King sticks by what he says, we could see the fabled author depart the platform.
What the future holds for Twitter is squarely in the hands of Elon Musk and the social media platform’s userbase. Perhaps there is a price between zero dollars and $20 USD where users would feel comfortable paying for verification. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as this story evolves.