Twitter Inc halted its recently announced $8 Blue Check subscription service on Friday as fake accounts surged, and new owner Elon Musk brought back the “official” badge for some users of the social media platform.
The coveted blue mark was previously reserved for verified accounts of politicians, celebrities, journalists and other public figures.
However, a subscription option, open to anyone willing to pay, was launched earlier this week to boost Twitter’s revenue as Musk fights to retain advertisers.
The flip-flop is part of two weeks of chaos on Twitter since Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition.
Musk has fired nearly half of Twitter’s workforce, removed its board and senior executives, and raised the possibility of Twitter’s bankruptcy.
The US Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday that it was viewing Twitter with “deep concern”.
Several users reported on Friday that the new subscription option for the blue verification mark had disappeared, while a source told JEE News the offer had been discontinued.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
