The flaws in Elon Musk‘s masterplan to start charging for verification on Twitter were there for all to see, but the Chief Twit was the only one to didn’t seem to realize what was on the cards.
To the surprise of nobody but the Tesla founder and exploding spaceship expert, the exodus was instantaneous from the second the $8 monthly charge was implicated, with countless high-profile figures warning their followers to be wary of impersonation and parody accounts now that the ability to prove their identity had been removed.
Immediately bending over to appease the rich and famous, Musk made several concessions that included such disparate names as LeBron James and Stephen King, but it appears that he’s now decided to reinstate the mythical blue ticks for a myriad of stars and celebrities out of his own pocket, without even reaching out and asking if it was something they’d be interested in.
To give you an indication of the eclectic mix of people surprised to discover they’ve been re-verified – as well as the confusion it’s been causing – a gamut of recognizable faces have been forced to reiterate that they haven’t put their hands in their pockets to pay for the privilege.
It’s a smorgasbord of celebrities to say the least, but the one recurring theme is that they’ve all felt compelled to make it perfectly clear that it happened of its own volition. Not that we needed to be told the legendary Ian McKellen wouldn’t be paying $8 for the sake of social media, but it just goes to show the mess Elon keeps on making of the bird app.