Many Twitter users are angry and confused as it is now impossible to tell who has paid for their blue checkmark on the social media platform.
Last month, Twitter announced it would remove legacy verified checkmarks and end its legacy verified programme – in favour of charging people for a coveted blue tick.
For users who wanted to keep their checkmark, the Elon Musk-owned company advised them to subscribe to Twitter Blue – which costs $8 (£6.51) a month for individual web users.
Back in February, Musk tweeted: “Twitter’s legacy Blue Verified is unfortunately deeply corrupted, so will sunset in a few months.”
The change was due to take effect on 1 April, but legacy verified users have noticed their checkmarks are still intact.
Image: Legacy verified accounts and Twitter Blue subscribers have been lumped together
While some were questioning if Musk was pulling an April Fools prank, it was later discovered that Twitter had changed the description on legacy verified accounts.
Now, when users click on a blue checkmark, the new description reads, “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account” – lumping legacy verified accounts with Twitter Blue subscribers.
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Before, it read: “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”
So it is now impossible to tell the difference between people who were verified before the legacy verified programme was implemented and those who forked out for a blue checkmark.
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New York Times gets checkmark removed
While many of Twitter’s high-profile users brace for the loss of the blue checkmarks that helped verify and distinguish them from imposters on the social media platform – Musk has taken the liberty to remove it from one news organisation in particular.
The New York Times has had its verification tick on its main account removed, with the publication happening to be one of Musk’s most despised news publications.
It comes after the paper claimed in a story on Thursday that it would not pay Twitter for verification of its institutional accounts.
Image: The New York Times has had its checkmark removed
The Twitter CEO tweeted early on Sunday that the Times’ checkmark would be removed before posting disparaging remarks about the newspaper.
Other Times accounts such as its business news and opinion pages still had either blue or gold check marks on Sunday, as did multiple reporters for the news organisation.
“We aren’t planning to pay the monthly fee for check mark status for our institutional Twitter accounts,” the Times said in a statement on Sunday.
“We also will not reimburse reporters for Twitter Blue for personal accounts, except in rare instances where this status would be essential for reporting purposes.”
Meanwhile, the Associated Press, which has also said it will not pay for the checkmarks, still had them on its accounts at midday on Sunday.
‘Stop this mess’
Many legacy verified Twitter users have expressed their anger at the idea of being mistaken for a Twitter Blue subscriber.
One person tweeted: “This is misleading B*******. I’ve NOT subscribed to Twitter Blue and have no intention to. I have a legacy verified account. Stop this mess”.
Another wrote: “Elon’s trying to protect the Twitter Blue folks from mockery by making legacy verified accounts ambiguous instead of taking the blue tick off? What on earth is this @TwitterBlue? I have not paid for the blue tick”.
While a third suggested it was too complex for Musk to mass delete legacy blue checkmarks, writing: “Okay so he found out it was too hard (and embarrassing) to disable legacy checks, and now he has just changed the description of all the legacy verified people to suggest we might be paying for Twitter Blue… This is a new world record of Not Mad.”
And YouTuber Eddy Buback seemed mortified at the thought of being mistaken for a Twitter Blue subscriber, writing: “Oh god, this is way worse than taking the checkmark. I did not pay Elon. I would rather die.”
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.