The talk of Twitter this evening has seemingly revolved around the disappearance of legacy 'Blue Ticks' from countless profiles worldwide.
The legacy checkmark was initially a sign of verification given to notable people - like celebrities, politicians, journalists and sports stars - after they had passed strict verification processes online. This in-turn allowed the platform to verify a notable user's identity while preventing online impersonators.
But today, Twitter users waved goodbye to all legacy checkmarks, with the only ones remaining belonging to businesses, affiliates, current government officials and those subscribed to the ever-controversial Twitter Blue.
Read more: Elon Musk set to strip all legacy 'Blue Ticks' from Twitter today - can you keep yours?
The service, which sets mobile users back £11 per month or £114.99 per year allows people to retain their verification checkmark, which over the years has become a symbol of trust and legitimacy. Newly found CEO of Twitter Elon Musk's new subscription project however has tarnished that status symbol substantially - with the only remaining checkmark holders those who pay the price for the upgraded version of the social media platform.
While Twitter Blue undoubtedly holds a handful of other benefits, such as allowing users to construct longer tweets, upload videos in 1080p and edit already posted content - the main selling point is the ability to obtain the 'vanity' checkmark.
And today, a number of notable celebrities who refused to pay the price for the subscription ultimately lost their Blue Ticks - at least until they opt to subscribe to Twitter Blue.
To name a few, high profile politicians like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock no longer have the checkmark, while royals The Prince and Princess of Wales (Prince William and Kate Middleton) also lost the coveted tick on their shared account.
Journalist Piers Morgan lost his tick, as did friend and sports star Cristiano Ronaldo - despite his whopping 108.3million-strong following. Other notable names who no longer have the legacy tick include Beyoncé and partner Jay Z, Scottish superstar Lewis Capaldi, YouTuber KSI, and former Geordie Shore favourite Charlotte Crosby.
A number of other celebs however, chose to subscribe to Twitter Blue, retaining their checkmark - including pundit Gary Lineker, presenter Holly Willoughby, money saving man Martin Lewis and horror author Stephen King, despite his 'big whoop' attitude to legacy ticks being scrapped.
Some celebs flocked to Twitter to complain about the move, while others saw the funny side. Always sharp, Ricky Gervais penned: "My blue tick has gone. I'm not sure if I'm really me or not," while prior to the big wipe-out, Richard Osman said: "Farewell blue tick, old friend.
"Don't forget, always set your feed to 'Following' rather than 'For You'. Then you'll keep seeing the people you actually follow, and not people who've paid for attention."
Sideman Simon Minter aka Miniminter, wrote: "I guess I'm not the real Wedgeman anymore..." while North East-based YouTube star WillNE took the opportunity to play a practical joke on his friend and fellow internet sensation ChrisMD by changing his display picture and username to Chris Dixon.
Impartial Ainsley Harriot meanwhile wrote: "Well, farewell legacy blue tick. At least it did let people know it was my verified account so this is just to say please be careful on any fake accounts and potential scams. Have a happy evening everyone - with or without your tick x."
Twitter previously had around 300,000 verified users via the original checkmark system - many of whom journalists, public figures and athletes - reports The Mirror. Elon Musk acquired Twitter back in October 2022 and quickly outlined his new Twitter Blue scheme, and earlier this month, he ultimately announced the final date for removing the old-school authentication brand.
Taking to his own Twitter page, he wrote: "Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20."
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