Elon Musk Spares Buhari, Removes Osinbajo, Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, Others’ Twitter Verification Tags
Twitter on Thursday commenced mass removal of verification tags from the accounts of top government officials, politicians and celebrities, among others, on the micro-blogging platform.
In Nigeria, those affected include Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and other presidential candidates in the country’s last general election — Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, among others.
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Nigerian celebrities affected include Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido.
But President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government’s accounts appeared to be spared in the shake up being witnessed at Twitter since American billionaire, Elon Musk, paid $44 billion to acquire the company.
The verification tag, a blue checkmark beside a user’s name, was traditionally used by Twitter to confirm that an account is authentic and belongs to the person or organization it claims to represent.
In Nigeria, as in other countries, the verification tag has become a status symbol and a way for politicians and public figures to boost their credibility on social media.
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But Twitter, which has over 40 million estimated users in Nigeria, is asking anyone who desires the blue tick to pay $8.00/month or $84/year (about N5,000/month or N52,900.00/year) to use the service known as Twitter Blue with added features.
While many have commended Twitter on the move, some have argued that the verification tag was prestigious when it wasn’t for sale. Below are some of the reactions.
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