Cristiano Ronaldo has lost his verified tick on Twitter after changes to the platform’s verification regulations, in spite of being its most followed footballer and sportsman.
Ronaldo has 108.3 million followers on Twitter, but he does no longer has the “legacy verified checkmark” which was in the past used to confirm the authenticity of official accounts.
This week, Elon Musk’s social media site put in place new rules which saw thousands of accounts on the platform lose their verified ticks, irrespective of how popular they are, and Ronaldo was one of those in spite of being the most followed athlete on Twitter.
Twitter users can now part with $8 (£6.46) monthly subscription to sign up on Twitter Blue, which comes with the verified tick along with special access to other things including longer video uploads and an edit button.
But many have not welcomed the money making tactic put in place by Elon Musk, and have not decided to donate to the billionaire’s pocket after his $44billion (£38.1 billion) acquisition of Twitter last October.
Elon Musk said that he is paying $8 monthly out of his own money to keep the verified blue tick of basketball superstar LeBron James, alongside author Stephen King and actor William Shatner.
The Basketball great has in the past said he wouldn’t pay to keep his blue tick
LeBron James previously said that he had no plans of parting with any amount to keep his blue tick, and that led to Musk explaining the matter to befuddled users.
But it looks like Elon Musk’s goodwill did not extend to the most followed sportsperson on Twitter, footballing great Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese popularity has stayed peak after playing for big teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Ronaldo presently plays his club football in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, where he earns a staggering £173-million-a-year salary, and as such the cost of the monthly subscription is not a problem.
Verified ticks have been used on Twitter since 2009, after St. Louis Cardinals coach Anthony La Russa took legal action against the platform over an imposter account and were previously handed to accounts of public interest – later known as “legacy check marks” under Musk’s ownership.
The elimination of blue tick marks has resulted to issues that impersonation moves would sky rocket, and it will also enhance an increased flow of misinformation.
BBC Match of the Day host, Gary Lineker has kept his blue tick due to the fact that he has been “paying it for a while” stating in April that he was only paying the monthly subscription to sustain access to Twitter’s edit button.
Manchester City stars Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez tweeted on Thursday that they had no intentions to pay the fee, and their blue ticks are now withdrawn.
United States Olympian Lolo James stated that while she is not anymore verified on the Microblogging app, she is still on her dating profile.
