X is giving free blue checks to users again.
More than 2,500 “verified” followers on X will receive free blue checks usually only given to people who subscribe to X Premium.
Going forward, all 𝕏 accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2024
X's blue checks were previously reserved for celebrities, politicians, journalists and other influential accounts – which let users know that the public figures were who they said they were, and could also help reduce the spread of misinformation.
When Elon Musk bought the platform in October 2022, this changed. And last year, X began issuing verification checks only to those who paid for it, which led to a large number of fake accounts pretending to be someone else.
But last week, some users reported seeing the blue checks return to their accounts, or appear for the first time, without paying for “premium” services on the platform.
"Omg they gave me a blue checkmark for being “influential” on twitter. they have simply reinvented the original blue check i’m laughing so hard," one user said.
Musk confirmed that all X accounts with more than 2,500 verified subscriber followers would now get Premium features, which includes a checkmark, for free, and that accounts with more than 5,000 would get Premium+ for free.
Some users shared a notification they received on the platform that said they would receive the free Premium subscription “as an influential member of the community on X”.
Specific reasoning behind this new policy has not been confirmed by X.
But reactions to the new rules were mixed, with some excitement but confusion, too.
“What happened? I didn’t pay for this. I would NEVER pay for this,” actress Yvette Nicole Brown said.
