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Was Elon Musk’s Twitter verification crusade all just marketing?

- November 22, 2022
- Updated: July 2, 2025 at 3:19 AM

There appears to be utter chaos at the moment with Twitter users now able to pay for the Blue Tick verification. Now part of the Twitter Blue membership, you can also have a badge if you verify your identity. Does that mean this entire crusade was just Musk’s way to market the paid subscription and ensure decent income from many of its members? Elon is already saving Twitter billions in infrastructure costs with the latest layoffs.
It’s enough that many users have had to deal with fake emails exploiting the new Twitter verification process. You can ignore those, though, as the company has an easy way for you to receive the badge if you have Twitter Blue. All you need to do is verify that you say who you are with your ID or organizational identification.
However, there’s a catch. As per the Twitter support page, you’ll have one of two badges. The one is the Legacy Twitter verification, based on the old system. If you are recognized in the papers, online, or in government as an important person, you’ll still have that tick. The new icon is for Twitter Blue members who have paid for the subscription and have verified their identity through the new process.
Elon Musk has also stated that there will be a special notification when you hover over the badge. It will identify if you are verified based on the Legacy method or the new process. Basically, everyone will know whether or not you paid for your Twitter status. There are already plenty of memes online making fun of this situation.
No matter how you look at it, the two separate systems still draw a very clear line between the lords and peasants of Twitter. No one mentioned you in online articles or mentioned your importance? That’s ok, you can just pay for it. You won’t be royalty, but you’ll look like one. An honorary member of high society, if you will.

It makes many of us wonder if Elon has bigger plans for the two Twitter badges or if it was just an ingenious way to promote payment for Twitter Blue. For many of us, it’s working. I personally didn’t care about upgrading my free account to a paid one before. However, I’ve waited years for the platform to acknowledge that my profile is for a published author and Softonic journalist. I sent my ID and proof of who I am, but it was denied for several years, as I was not “famous” or of importance. Now, hopefully I can prove on Twitter that I am who I say I am, even if I have to bribe them with a subscription.
Ever since Musk completed the controversial Twitter deal, it’s ruffled quite a bit of feathers, causing many to migrate to platforms like Mastadon. If you’ve missed all the action, you can read more about the current State of Twitter in our detailed article.
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