Leftists on Twitter Outraged over Musk’s Plan to Charge $8/Month for Verification
Elon Musk has stated that Twitter plans to implement a new Twitter Blue subscription service that will cost users $8 per month. According to Musk, the subscription will include priority in replies and mentions, the ability to post longer videos, half as many advertisements, and the most controversial benefit: it will allow anyone to be verified and receive a blue checkmark on their account.
Musk argues that the current blue checkmark system separates “lords and peasants” and his new system will be specifically intended to differentiate which accounts are run by human beings and which accounts are run by bots. The change will also make Twitter less dependent on advertisers because there is a continual revenue stream.
Naturally, there are many prominent leftists with blue checkmarks that are outraged by this change. Congresswoman AOC recently got into a Twitter fight with the new CEO over this change:
To which Elon wittingly responded:
Here is the truth: the $8/mo plan is OPTIONAL and is not mandatory to use Twitter. It is also necessary, apparently, to point out that “free speech” doesn’t mean monetarily free. You have free speech when talking on the phone, for example, but you still have to pay your phone bill and internet costs. When Musk says he wants to bring free speech back to the platform, he means he wants to stop the one-sided censorship that has been carried out for years by big tech companies.
It’s also worth noting that AOC bought a $60,000 Tesla, a car Musk created. Despite this, she is complaining about spending $8/month to have a check next to her name. Musk already clarified that there will be a secondary tag on the profile of public officials and politicians. But for AOC, she’s just complaining that the new owner of Twitter isn’t someone who agrees with the radical left.
