Twitter has been a mess for months, and there’s a reason why: It’s now owned by Elon Musk. The billionaire troll purchased the once mighty social media giant back in November, and since then he’s thrown it into chaos. His latest and perhaps most damaging move has been to deep six legacy blue check marks, which were intended to verify the veracity of accounts of celebrities and other notable figures. Now they’re for people who pay to subscribe to Twitter Blue. Or mostly. Some late celebrities, weirdly, still have them. Other living ones do, too. And many of them aren’t happy about it.
As per Rolling Stone, people like Chrissy Teigen have been lamenting that they mysteriously have — or at least had — blue check marks. As of this writing, Teigen doesn’t, but she did. And she wasn’t happy that she was lumped in with the likes of Catturd.
it won’t go away
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 22, 2023
“It won’t go away,” she wrote about her badge of dishonor. Again, it’s (currently) no longer there, but only because she found a work-around, which she advised to others, such as political speechwriter (not Zathura director) Jon Favreau. She told him, “change your name and it triggers a checkmark removal. But then don’t talk about it again or you will get another. Im serious lol.” (Note: As of this writing, he still has one.)
change your name and it triggers a checkmark removal. But then don’t talk about it again or you will get another. Im serious lol
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 22, 2023
Teigen, whose celebrity was increased by her Twitter usage, wasn’t as pissed as someone who became famous because of Twitter: Paul Dochney, aka dril.
wait I’m crying they’re giving them for punishment now !!?!! https://t.co/V2K8zCKScf
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 22, 2023
On Saturday, two days after the reckoning, the “Weird Twitter” king — who’s hated the Musk regime from day one — was not happy to find that he mysteriously had a blue check mark, which claimed that he had both subscribed to Twitter Blue and that he’d confirmed it over his phone. (His check mark has since been rescinded.)
Ah they got me. Im fucked pic.twitter.com/ZlAWQZs6Zb
— wint (@dril) April 22, 2023
now that i have the baneful blue mark, I undertand the pain ive wrought. i was wrong to torment dog coin guys. im jealous of their million's
— wint (@dril) April 22, 2023
“now that i have the baneful blue mark, I undertand the pain ive wrought,” he wrote while he still had the check mark. “i was wrong to torment dog coin guys. im jealous of their million’s.”
Dril, too, changed his handle, from “wint” to “slave to woke,” a diss on Musk’s hatred of progressives. He didn’t stop there. He pointed out that what Musk was doing — falsely claiming that people were supporting a service they weren’t — was a violation of the Lanham Act prohibiting “false endorsement.”
its ok he fired the people in charge of telling him its illegal https://t.co/9K01oQwP9k
— wint (@dril) April 22, 2023
In other words, it was another funny yet profoundly stupid day on the service that began with randos sharing what they had for dinner.
(Via Rolling Stone)