Twitter users will begin losing blue ticks starting in the following month unless they pay

On April 1, April Fool's Day, the social media business said it would start "winding down" its "legacy" verification service, prompting several Twitter users to make fun of the statement.

At the start of the following month, the blue ticks of many verified Twitter users would disappear. The social networking site has announced that it will begin eliminating its "legacy" verified checkmarks on April 1.

Most blue-tick accounts that are not government employees or organizations are covered by these, which means that many performers, actors, journalists, and authors, among others, will no longer have a tick.

The blue ticks show that a Twitter account has been verified.

Elon Musk, the head of Twitter, has previously threatened to eliminate legacy blue ticks, allegedly calling their distribution "corrupt and stupid." Accounts must sign up for Twitter Blue, which has a monthly charge of up to £11 for those residing in the UK, to maintain their ticks.

Business accounts can subscribe to Twitter Verified Organisations to add gold checkmarks to their accounts. Nonetheless, the base monthly fee of the subscription service would be £950. Twitter declared the change and that it would "begin phasing down our legacy verified program."

"There is no chance this won't backfire at all."

The announcement was the subject of jokes from verified Twitter users, especially the choice to begin removing the ticks on April 1. No way removing legacy verified on April 1 won't backfire, said civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo.

The statement on Twitter that legacy verified accounts "may or may not be notable" prompted a joke from American screenwriter Mark Royce.

"Because verified checks will be removed on April Fool's Day (not at all a confusing day to do that), I want to give my many superfans who have been perplexed by one enigma for months closure," he wrote.

"No, is the answer. In actuality, this account is not noteworthy. Godspeed". Please get rid of this virus, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's top writer Ariel Dumas jokingly pleaded. I've become too wealthy and well-known, thanks to my verified check.

"I am questioned in stores. My enormous adult sons are sick of fending off my legions of followers chasing me while yelling, "blue check, blue check."

The introduction of the paid-for verification option drew criticism from some quarters after it resulted in several bogus users purchasing verification and then using that persona to spread offensive content.

The multibillionaire acquired Twitter in October of last year as part of a $44 billion (£36 billion) deal, and he soon came under fire after he sacked key company leaders.