Blue check marks reappear on some large X accounts

Almost a year since blue check marks disappeared from some large, influential accounts on X (formerly Twitter), they have started to return. On Wednesday, some individuals with large followings started receiving notifications that they had received complimentary premium features, including the return of the iconic blue check mark to their accounts.

“Omg they gave me a blue checkmark for being ‘influential’ on twitter,” posted comedian Ellie Schnitt, who has more than half a million followers on X and was previously verified. “They have simply reinvented the original blue check i’m laughing so hard.”

In late March, platform owner Elon Musk posted that accounts with more than 2,500 verified subscriber followers would get X Premium features for free, and accounts with more than 5,000 verified subscriber followers will get X Premium+ features. One of those features is the blue check mark icon that previously served as an indicator of real accounts belonging to celebrities, journalists, influencers and other public figures.

In April 2023, as part of Musk’s takeover of the company, check marks were pulled from “legacy” verified accounts — which had been verified through a tightly controlled process meant to designate accounts as “notable.” Under Musk, verification became a paid feature for members of X Premium, in which virtually anyone could enroll. Politicians were given gray check marks and organizations could pay for gold check marks. At the same time, Musk said he gifted some premium features to some influential accounts, like author Stephen King, who posted that he had received the blue check against his will.

Under Musk, the platform added benefits to premium subscriptions including the ability to monetize content via ads, the ability to edit posts and boosted reach.

As the blue check transformed into a symbol of paying for a subscription to X, it also became a target of mockery and became associated with accounts that scam, spam, impersonate and harass others. In August, the platform began allowing people to hide their check mark, allowing users to potentially monetize their content and receive a boost from the platform without letting other people know they pay for the features.

Some new recipients are already choosing to hide the check mark.

“I have turned off the spurious bluetick, which does nothing to help identity assurance and much to confuse it,” U.K. parliamentary candidate Edward Lucas posted.

Other accounts that were previously verified but had smaller followings, including many journalists, academics and other experts in their fields, have not been restored to their former blue check status.

On Thursday, Musk also announced that the platform was executing a "purge of bots & trolls." Since his takeover of the platform, the presence of spammy bots on the platform has been a near-constant source of controversy.

The changes come as Meta’s Threads continues to attract disgruntled X users. On Wednesday, Business Insider reported that Meta was testing providing payouts to creators for highly viewed Threads posts. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In January 2023, accounts with large followings told NBC News that Musk’s changes at X had made the platform worse and harder to use. Still, the platform continues to draw in millions of daily active users.