Twitter users bid farewell to an iconic feature on the platform, as many reported on Thursday that they had lost their verified blue check marks.
These badges were initially awarded by the company’s previous leadership to distinguish high-profile users and public organizations.
While Twitter had previously announced that the system would be phased out on April 1, nothing happened until CEO Elon Musk announced a new end date of April 20.
As of early Thursday afternoon, celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Kim Kardashian lost their coveted blue checks, as did prominent TV personalities such as CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
Public figures from all walks of life, including Bill Gates and Pope Francis, also lost their verification status.
Though some congressional representatives still had the gray government check mark on their official accounts, others, such as Ayanna Pressley, Brian Mast, and Ilhan Omar, lost verification on their personal accounts.
However, certain politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene retained their blue check marks on personal accounts.
As the removal process was underway on Thursday, some users reported confusing glitches that caused their blue check marks to disappear, reappear, and then vanish once again.
Meanwhile, Twitter’s grey verification tick for government officials.
Nevertheless, most users who lost their verification badges seemed prepared to bid them farewell.
This revelation has left many pondering the significance of verified accounts and how they are granted.
Twitter has yet to comment on the matter.
