Twitter Blue $8 verification
App & software · 2022
Twitter sold checks for $7.99, then paused sign-ups after accounts impersonated brands.
Elon Musk
@elonmusk · Nov 1, 2022
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
Esther Crawford ✨
@esthercrawford · Nov 8, 2022
A lot of folks have asked about how you'll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the “Official" label to select accounts when we launch.
Drew Harwell
@drewharwell · Nov 11, 2022
The guy who ran a fake-but-verified Tesla account for six hours yesterday TikToked a play-by-play that now has 1 million views. "I'm gonna ride this 'til it combusts like a Tesla battery," he said. On the flipside, @elonmusk made $8 tiktok.com/@connormusarra…
Drew Harwell
@drewharwell · Nov 10, 2022
Spokesperson for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly says they're in communication with Twitter to address the fake-but-verified Eli Lilly tweet that has been up for three hours and has 1,500 retweets and 10,000 likes wapo.st/3UrrHSs
Drew Harwell
@drewharwell · Nov 11, 2022
The fake Eli Lilly free-insulin tweet has now been online for six hours. 3,000 retweets. The (actual) company responded three hours ago. But, hey, at least there's a "Community Note" now. And all this for a crisp $8. Enjoy it, @elonmusk!
Spread Score
How it worksNumbers
- Seed to milestone
- 2 days
- Nov 9 ’22 to Nov 11 ’22
- Platforms
- 5
- Started on App stores
- Origin
- Seeded
- Media & publishing
How it spread
Trace the originTwitter launched paid blue checks on November 9. Impersonators copied brands, including Eli Lilly, and a Tesla impersonator explained his prank on TikTok. Twitter paused sign-ups on November 11. Lilly halted Twitter advertising; Blue returned with reviews in December.
Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
Timeline (16)
November 2022
Twitter precursor · Nov 5 ’22
Twitter updated its iOS app description, but Crawford said the new Blue service was not live.[3]
Join free to see why it worked and the other 13 events. Free, on every case.
Do this
- 1Test whether a new paid status symbol can be mistaken for an existing trust signal.
Every number (11)
- Monthly iOS launch price“The new Twitter Blue, which now costs $7.99 per month”$8[7]
Press (6 outlets)
- Nov 1, 20228 days before
The Verge · Elon Musk’s $8 Twitter Blue subscription offers verification, fewer ads, and search priority | The Verge
You’ve seen 1 of 3 steps, 1 of 11 numbers and 1 of 6 outlets. Pro opens the rest, with all 25 sources.
