LeBron James has hit out Twitter CEO Elon Musk as the social media platform is set to make verification exclusive to paid users.
James is a prominent figure on social media and recently weighed in on the latest internet debate. While the Los Angles Lakers superstar is currently verified on Twitter, that is set to come to an end.
From 1 April, the social media giant is set to make changes in regards to verification as Musk decided to remove each and every checkmark in order to make people subscribe to Twitter Blue - the paid version of the app. With the deadline approaching, James - who has just under 53 million Twitter followers - let the public know his decision.
The 38-year-old clearly has no intentions of paying a monthly fee to stay verified. On Friday, he took to Twitter to write: “Welp guess my blue [check] will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5.”
James is clearly not willing to pay $5 a month - and the actual price is $8 - so he will likely no longer be verified along with many others. It is all the more amusing that the NBA legend is set to refuse the fee given he has a net worth of $1bn.
Perhaps it makes sense that James is not keen on the idea of paying for the app. When told his friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade considered James the cheapest player in the NBA, the four-time MVP said: “That is so, so, so, so falsely true. That is so falsely true.
“I’m not turning on data roaming. I’m not buying no apps. I still got Pandora with commercials. I’m not paying for it. I’m not.”
The news regarding verification on Twitter comes after the app is reportedly secretly boosting the accounts of 35 VIP users over others, according to Platformer. Platformer published 14 of the 35 names on the list, which included James along with YouTuber Mr. Beast, US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Musk himself.
The report comes after Musk reportedly asked Twitter to tweak Twitter’s code to make his posts more visible. In February, Musk ordered changes to boost the visibility of his tweets over anyone else on the platform after his Super Bowl post got fewer impressions than that of US president Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, James’ 38-38 Lakers sit ninth in the Western Conference as they chase a spot in the NBA playoffs. The Lakers take on the 39-38 Minnesota Timberwolves in their next contest on Friday night.
