Susanna Reid wanted to keep her blue tick (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Susanna Reid has defended herself after paying for a blue tick on Twitter.
The blue tick was previously a verification badge given for free by the social media platform before billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover, and it’s now included as part of the site’s Twitter Blue premium subscription service.
Costing around $8 per month, it means the tick now simply shows the account has subscribed, although there is a verification process attached to making the payment.
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna has responded after spotting a story with the headline ‘Piers Morgan LOSES Twitter tick as Susanna Reid and Holly Willoughby pay to keep theirs’.
Sharing a list with a green tick emoji alongside each point, she replied: ‘It’s a site I use daily. I want a verified account. It’s a subscription.’
Those with a blue tick from the original verification process, who decided not to pay the subscription fee, began losing their ticks last week, although it has since been restored for some accounts with over a million followers.
Susanna has argued her case (Picture: Twitter/@susannareid100)
The likes of author Stephen King, the actor William Shatner and the basketball player Lebron James all previously criticised the scheme but still have their blue ticks, which Elon has claimed he paid for himself.
The It writer, who has some run-ins with Musk on a number of occasions, wrote: ‘My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.’
Amazingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Musk replied: ‘You’re welcome namaste.’
Elon Musk has been criticised over the changes to the blue tick (Picture: Britta Pedersen / Pool / AFP)
King later suggested: ‘I think Mr Musk should give my blue check to charity. I recommend the Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. It’s only $8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could add a bit more.’
Meanwhile, there are proving to be some issues with the new system, and on Monday it emerged that the gold tick given to organisations and businesses that pay $1,000 a month (£800) was given to a fake Disney account.
The account @DisneyJuniorUK, which has since been suspended, has no affiliation with the global brand, and was actually started in June 2021 by the user @7virtues_.
As reported by the BBC, had been tweeting ‘vile content’ to its 4,697 followers.
More: Trending
After spotting the gold tick, @DisneyJuniorUK’s owner tweeted: ‘this [sic] isn’t actually real right. someone [sic] pinch me or something.’
Twitter’s mistake then went viral, which later resulted in the account’s suspension.
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