Published 21st Apr, 2023

By Sodeeq Atanda

In his quest to improve profit making at Twitter and revamp its organisational structure, Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, has given effect to his decision to remove all legacy blue checks from verified handles.

The development makes Twitter’s blue tick subscription-based henceforth.

FIJ ran through the profiles of notable figures and global corporates in the business, politics, academia, entertainment and financial world affected by the new normal. Here are some of them:

ENTERTAINMENT AND POLITICS

In entertainment, Beyonce, Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy are among the top artists who have lost the blue ticks that once distinguished their profiles on Twitter.

Also, the big names in the Nigerian political space for the 2023 presidential election all had their marks removed by the microblogging site. Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar no longer have the Twitter distinctive mark on their handles.

The three politicians contested the election on their different political platforms. Tinubu was fielded by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Obi represented the Labour Party (LP), while Abubakar represented the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Goodluck Jonathan, a former Nigerian president, and Donald Trump, a former US president, also lost their blue checks.

BUSINESS AND SPORTS

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote of Dangote Group of Companies, has been stripped of his blue tick. Femi Otedola, the chairman of Geregu Power Plc., also lost the mark.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, which is Nigeria’s apex bank, had a blue tick to its profile before the implementation of the removal order.

The giants of the football world were also impacted by the new policy. Cristian Renaldo of Al Nasir Football Club, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria’s Victor Oshimen also lost their check marks.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION

Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church worldwide, was also affected. The verification badge once identified with his handle has been taken away.

The new Twitter policy did not leave giants in academia and in the literary space. Many of them have had their ticks taken away from the profiles.

The University of Lagos, Yale University, University of Oxford, Harvard University and Nobel Prize have all been stripped of their blue ticks.

In journalism, Pulitzer Prizes, an international body dedicated to rewarding outstanding journalists, is a victim of this policy as it verification badge has been removed.

To regain the blue tick, everyone affected may have to pay some money.

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