Beyonce and the Pope among those to lose Twitter blue check in purge

What bash Beyoncé and Pope Francis person successful common? As of today, they are nary longer verified connected Twitter.

The societal media elephantine began removing the once-coveted bluish cheque verification from thousands of accounts connected Thursday.

The determination comes arsenic proprietor Elon Musk attempts to overhaul the societal media institution to crook a profit.

Users who privation to clasp the cheque beside their sanction indispensable wage $84 a twelvemonth (£67) to subscribe to Twitter Blue.

As the alteration happened, galore formerly verified voiced took to Twitter to gag astir it, oregon mourn the loss.

The institution archetypal introduced the verification diagnostic successful 2009, aft a erstwhile nonrecreational shot subordinate sued the societal media giant implicit imposter accounts.

The bluish cheque became a presumption awesome and a motion of authority. But successful the caller Twitter-verse, Mr Musk wants users to wage to beryllium verified.

The determination to monetise verification could usher successful a monolithic taste and powerfulness displacement connected the platform.

In the days earlier verification, Kanye West, Shaq and Ewan McGregor were among the archetypal celebrities to talk out astir being impersonated connected Twitter. Now that the badges are gone, a celebrity's follower number whitethorn go the lone mode to archer the quality betwixt idiosyncratic celebrated and an imposter.

Mr Musk has tried to framework the determination to bash distant with verification arsenic a mode to democratise contented connected the site. But critics person argued the determination volition amplify disinformation arsenic Twitter Blue subscribers volition get prioritised rankings - Mr Musk has said that lone verified accounts volition look successful the site's salient For You stream.

Social media monitors and experts fearfulness the emergence successful paid verification volition pb to an amplification of misinformation connected the site. If that were to happen, it could scare disconnected yet much advertisers - and undermine immoderate other gross Twitter is getting from its verification subscription model.

But Mr Musk said symptom is simply a portion of change.

"I consciousness similar we're headed to a bully place," helium told BBC News. "Overall, I deliberation the inclination is precise good."