AOC hits Elon Musk's possible Twitter verification charge
Twitter owner Elon Musk plans to charge users $8 to be keep their blue check status
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Elon Musk has responded to criticism by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over his plan to charge Twitter users a monthly fee to keep their accounts verified.
"Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan," the New York Democrat tweeted Tuesday night.
The new owner of Twitter thanked Ocasio-Cortez for her feedback and told her to pay $8.
Twitter was reportedly discussing plans to charge a $20 per month verification fee. However, Musk announced the change in a thread earlier in the day, writing that Twitter Blue for $8 a month would bring "power to the people."
"Twitter’s current lords [and} peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls---," Musk said, noting that price would be adjusted by country.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attends a ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York on Sept. 11, 2022. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Those who pay will also get priority in replies, mentions and search, the ability to post long videos and audio and see half as many ads.
Publishers "willing to work with [Twitter]" will get "paywall bypass," and Musk has said there will be a "secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure."
Twitter users who pay a monthly fee to keep their accounts verified will also get priority in replies, mentions and search, the ability to post long videos and audio and see half as many ads, according to Elon Musk's plan. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators," he said.
Elon Musk attends Heidi Klum's 2022 Hallowe'en Party at Sake No Hana at Moxy LES in New York City on Monday. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The announcement has drawn criticism from those with and without blue checks.
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Some said they would simply screenshot the blue checks on their profiles, rather than cough up the cash to the new Twitter leader.
Earlier on Tuesday, author Stephen King blasted the idea of a $20 verification charge.
"$20 a month to keep my blue check? F--- that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron," King tweeted.
"We need to pay the bills somehow!" Musk replied. "Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?"