Elon Musk has been re-verifying dead celebrities on Twitter
nme.comTwitter has added posthumous blue checks to the accounts of dead celebrities including Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson, Chadwick Bosman, Chester Bennington and more.The updates follow a promise made by owner Elon Musk, which saw him remove all legacy-verified checkmarks from the site on April 20, as a way of encouraging users to sign up for an $8 (£6) monthly fee.While the removal of the legacy-verified checkmarks sparked debates from multiple users throughout the entertainment industry — including Ricky Gervais and Jack Black — in recent days numerous high-profile accounts regained the verification symbol on their accounts.
This was suspected to be part of a wider (but unannounced) scheme to restore verification to users with over one million followers.Among the famous faces who have had the checkmark reissued to their account are multiple dead celebrities.
These include Michael Jackson, Barbara Walters, Paul Walker, Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Bosman, Anthony Bourdain and Chester Bennington.The decision to re-issue these late stars with a “verified” account has led to criticism however, as when users click on the verification symbol on their account, it states that they’re verified “because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”“This is highly deceptive.
Manipulating people to pay for Blue by adding verification marks to celebrities who didn’t pay and even to dead people’s accounts.
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