Twitter users with over 1 million followers have their blue verification badges back.
The users declined to pay for the blue tick leading to the loss of the badge on Friday which was the deadline for the Twitter Blue subscription fee.
Users were required to pay Sh972 ($8) per month for the badge.
Most of them, including media houses, journalists, and politicians, declined to pay for fear the new requirements would encourage the spread of misinformation and fake news.
On Sunday, however, Twitter owner Elon Musk had a change of heart. Some of the most followed Kenyans including Lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi, CNN Journalist Larry Madowo, Prof Makau Mutua, Martha Karua and Boniface Mwangi, had their badges back as of this morning.
News outlets like Citizen TV, Kenyans.co.ke, Nation and The Star, also regained their blue tick.
The “bird” app in 2022 announced that users would be forced to pay a monthly fee under Twitter Blue to have the badge (blue checkmark).
“On April 1, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks,” Twitter said.
Under Twitter Blue, subscribers will enjoy priorities in replies, mentions and searches. They will also be able to post long videos and audio and get half as many adverts.
“There will also be a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians,” Musk said.
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