Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has removed the New York Times account’s verification badge after the news outlet objected to the badge’s required $1,000 monthly subscription fee.
The New York Times, a well-known American daily with reporters all over the world, complained about having to pay the cost to keep the verification badge it had been using without charge for years.
In reaction to the criticism, Mr. Musk removed the badge right away, but not before hurling a string of jabs at the publication.
The Times vehemently objected to Mr. Musk’s mandate that organizations pay a $1,000 monthly price to maintain their verification ticks and an additional $50 monthly fee for affiliated staff employees as part of the extensive changes he made to Twitter after buying the social media platform last October.
The Times also stated that, apart from “rare circumstances where this status would be vital for journalistic purposes,” it will neither pay nor reimburse reporters who subscribe to Twitter Blue.
The blue tick was no longer present on The Times’ primary Twitter account.
Offshoots of The Times, such as New York Times Opinion and New York Times Travel, kept their gold verification ticks, nevertheless.
In a similar vein, CNN, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times have refused to pay the cost, which might soon result in the revocation of their verification badges.
