Elon Musk has owned Twitter for a matter of days, and already he’s causing meltdowns. Today he confirmed the site will revamp its ‘blue tick’ verification process – the badges of honour awarded to ‘notable’ authentic accounts – amid reports the site may charge up to £17 per month for the scheme. Even though the precise details haven’t yet been confirmed, it’s inevitably led to an amusing backlash from the ego-obsessed Twitterati…
Priyamvada Gopal, the hard-left academic who was uninvited from giving a Home Office lecture over her “racist views“, is somehow claiming her blue tick was “a matter of physical safety” and it is “actually not funny”:
The blue tick protected many of us from lethal impersonation and fake news. It was a matter of physical safety for me. This is actually not funny.
— Priyamvada Gopal (@PriyamvadaGopal) October 31, 2022
Meanwhile Chris Bryant – a man who has tweeted over 82,000 times – is busy shouting into the wind saying he’s “not sure” if he has a blue tick, never asked for one, doesn’t care if he has one or not, and personally warned Musk he “certainly” won’t pay for one. Sure.
Dear Mr Musk, I never sought a blue tick, I’m not sure whether I have one and I don’t care if you remove it (if I have it). I’m certainly not paying for your validation.
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) October 31, 2022
Expect to see more of this sort of thing in the coming weeks. Guido looks forward to the first MP claiming their blue badge on expenses. It’s bound to happen soon…
