New Twitter owner Elon Musk suggested Tuesday that he wants to charge $8 a month for a subscription plan that would give users a coveted blue verified checkmark on their accounts. In a string of tweets, he added that Twitter’s subscription service, known as Twitter Blue, would also include other features, such as priority in replies, mentions, and search results and the ability to post long video and audio clips. Subscribers would also see half as many ads.

Twitter Blue currently costs $5 per month but doesn’t include a verified check mark as a perk. In his tweets, Musk characterized the current system for who gets a check mark as exclusionary and called it “bullshit.”

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Twitter provides verified badges to accounts for free after the company determines the user is “authentic, notable, and active.” The blue checkmark is meant to signal to users that an account of a celebrity, journalist, politician, or other public figure isn’t fake. Despite Twitter’s intent, the blue checkmark is perceived by some users as somewhat of a status symbol. The company has tried to revamp its verification system and has also mistakenly verified fake accounts.

source cnet.com