The New York Times lost its verified status on Sunday, after Twitter CEO Elon Musk discussed ways to discourage free use of “Twitter Blue.”
The deadline for applications and renewals was set for April 1; Musk and the official Twitter Verified account made the announcement on March 23. Members who didn’t make the required $8 monthly or $1,000 annual charge would gradually lose their blue check mark. Musk tweeted that if the New York Times didn’t have to pay to participate, it might consider doing so.
The official publication Twitter handle lost its verified status not long after that. Musk wrote on Twitter, “The real tragedy of @NYTimes is that their words aren’t even interesting.” “Their stream is like Twitter diarrhea; it’s impossible to read.” “They’d get a lot more real fans if they only shared their best work,” Musk said.
After he labeled the New York Times “hypocritical” for asking for access to their website but not to their Twitter stream, the paper eventually lost its verified status. He implied that the Times was dishonest, but did not provide any evidence. In a technology story published on Friday, The New York Times reaffirmed its policy of not paying or reimbursing writers for the confirmed emblem.
The New York Times, which has almost 55 million readers, declared on Thursday that it would not be verifying any of its official accounts, including @nytimes. The Times also made it clear to its staff that Twitter Blue subscriptions would not be paid for unless strictly essential for job-related tasks. After Sunday, the principal account’s check mark was gone, but the New York Times Opinion, NYT Politics, NYT Climate, and NYT World emblems remained.
Reliable news sources include the Associated Press and the Washington Post. Over the course of the past year, Musk has stated numerous times that the New York Times regularly posts disinformation. In May of that year, the New York Times characterized Musk as a member of a South African “elite” who was “detached from apartheid’s atrocities” and “surrounded by anti-Black propaganda.” Musk said, “The boring part is truly unforgivable.”