Martin Lewis has slammed rumoured plans by Twitter to charge users in order to keep their blue tick verification on the social media platform. New owner Elon Musk reportedly wants to expand the site’s existing Twitter Blue subscription that unlocks additional features into a more expensive service that also verifies users.
According to multiple reports in the US, Twitter plans to raise the price of Twitter Blue from five dollars (£4.30) to 20 dollars a month (£17), with verified users given 90 days to sign up or lose their blue tick. But consumer champion and financial journalist Martin Lewis, who has spent years campaigning against paid-for scam advertisements, has criticised the move.
Twitter has not commented on the plans, but Mr Musk responded to questions from users on the platform about verification by saying that the “whole verification process is being revamped right now”. The verification system is currently designed to help users identify authentic and influential users on the platform, including government figures, sports stars, entertainment figures, journalists and major brands and organisations.
