# Twitter Blue $8 verification

> Twitter sold checks for $7.99, then paused sign-ups after accounts impersonated brands.

- Owner: Twitter (Elon Musk)
- Kind: App & software
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: 2022-11-09
- Milestone date: 2022-11-11
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 23 (Niche), v1.3
- Mechanics: Visible in use, Controversy, Transgression, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

Twitter 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.

## Timeline

- 2022-11-01 — Elon Musk (X) — Musk announced that Twitter Blue would include a blue check for $8 a month.
- 2022-11-05 — Twitter (App stores) — Twitter updated its iOS app description, but Crawford said the new Blue service was not live.
- 2022-11-08 — Esther Crawford (X) — Crawford previewed an Official label to distinguish selected accounts from paid blue checks.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/mcp#api).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/twitter-blue-verification

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Twitter Blue $8 verification.” Case HIS-01687. Spread Score v1.3: 23/100. Updated 2026-10-25. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01687