On Sunday, The New York Times' official Twitter account lost its blue "verified" checkmark status, which indicates that the user is authentic and notable. This comes just days after the newspaper announced that it would not pay the $1,000-per-month fee for verified status that Twitter CEO Elon Musk began charging.
Under this new system, individual users can pay $8 per month to have a verified blue checkmark while businesses are required to fork over $1,000 for a gold verified check.
The Times' refusal to pay was not an isolated decision as numerous news outlets such as Politico, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Buzzfeed have also announced they will not be paying for their verification.
Musk responded sarcastically in a tweet when he heard about The Time's decision not to pay saying 'Oh ok, we’ll take it off then'. Hours later he took another jab at the newspaper tweeting that it was "propaganda".
This move by Twitter has caused much debate online with many questioning if this change will affect how people perceive those without verification checks. It has also raised concerns about whether or not social media platforms should charge fees for certain features like being able to prove your authenticity.
In other news related to journalism and finance - Bloomberg Wall Street Week hosted by David Westin is set to return. A reinvention of the iconic Wall Street week show hosted by late financial journalist Louis Rukeyser. Bloomberg Wall Street Week features market and geopolitical discussions with thought leaders including CEOs, policy makers and economists among others.
As these events unfold we are left wondering what changes lay ahead in social media policies regarding verification fees and how journalists continue adapting in order keep up with ever-changing technological advancements across different fields of work.