People enjoying free verified Twitter accounts will lose their verification badges on April 20, 2023.
Twitter Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, announced the final date for the free Blue badge removal via his verified account on Tuesday evening.
“Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20.” the 51-year-old business magnate and investor wrote on his verified account.
Recall that before Elon Musk acquired Twitter, users of the microblogging platform do not pay to get verified nor pay for a monthly subscription to renew their verifications.
However, Musk has rolled out a series of terms and conditions since becoming Twitter’s CEO. He announced earlier that the company would begin removing all legacy blue checks starting from April 1, 2023.
“On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue,” Musk announced in March via a tweet accompanied by links to subscribe to the premium program.
Presidential Transition Council Debunks Fake Twitter Handle
A week ago, the Presidential Transition Council (PTC) distanced itself from a fake Twitter handle created in 2020.
According to PTC, the Twitter handle @TransitionNgr (https://twitter.com/TransitionNgr) was created before the establishment and inauguration of the council.
The Director of Information for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation/Chairman, Presidential Transition Council, Willie Bassey, revealed this in a statement made available to newsmen.
The PTC said the authentic Twitter account of the Presidential Transition Council is @FGNPTC (https://twitter.com/FGNPTC/).
The statement read, “The attention of the Presidential Transition Council has been drawn to a fake Twitter handle, @TransitionNgr (https://twitter.com/TransitionNgr.) created by unscrupulous persons since April, 2020, even before the establishment and inauguration of the Council.
“PTC has nothing to do with the fake Twitter account handle, and wishes to state that approval for the establishment of the Presidential Transition Council was given by the President in February this year and was subsequently inaugurated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation /Chairman of PTC, Boss Mustapha, thereby exposing their irresponsible and calculated attempt to disseminate inaccurate and tainted information to unsuspecting members of the public.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the authentic Twitter account of the Presidential Transition Council is @FGNPTC (FGN PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION COUNCIL) (https://twitter.com/FGNPTC/).
“The public, by this release, should discountenance the fake Twitter account and use the official account handle of PTC for genuine and accurate information on the activities of the transition programme.