When the original blue ticks on Twitter began to be removed, there was some confusion among some users. Among other things, the horror writer Stephen King was taken aback when, after the blue ticks were removed, he suddenly had a tick from being a Twitter Blue subscriber.
My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t.
My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 20, 2023
The explanation turned out to be that Twitter’s, or X Corps as the parent company is now called, CEO Elon Musk himself paid for the author’s subscription to the service. Musk stated that he also paid the subscriptions for basketball player LeBron James and actor William Shatner.
Just Shatner, LeBron and King
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2023
Why those accounts were selected Musk does not reveal, but perhaps it can be seen as an acknowledgment that Twitter’s algorithm does not really deliver the material you want to see from accounts you follow unless they have paid for the Twitter Blue service. Or perhaps it could be an attempt to market the service via celebrities who “subscribe.”
