New York, Europe Brief News- Several celebrities have changed their usernames to Elon Musk in protest against his intention to remove identity verification.
The move came after Musk decided to enforce Twitter Blue subscription service. Thus, users will be able to obtain a blue check mark — without having to prove their identity — for a monthly fee of $7.99.
The new service appeared on Apple’s app store on Saturday but is yet to go live.
Musk, a self-professed “free speech absolutist”, has described the old verification rules as a “lords and peasants system” and cast the changes as a way to democratise the platform.
Since finalising his $44bn purchase of Twitter last month, Musk has ushered in sweeping changes at the influential social media company, including laying off about half of the platform’s 7,500 employees.
Critics have expressed fears that Musk’s ownership of the platform will worsen the problems of misinformation, hate speech and fake accounts, especially ahead of crucial midterm elections in the United States on Tuesday.
Over the past week, several celebrities have left Twitter following Elon Musk’s takeover last month.
The world’s richest person has faced a torrent of criticism, and worse, since taking over the social media site.
Gigi Hadid is one of the latest stars to announce their exit, which she did via a brutal Instagram post on Friday.
