The New York Times recently lost its verified check mark on Twitter after the social media platform CEO, Elon Musk, announced a crackdown on users who refuse to pay for the Twitter Blue subscription.
Musk revealed that verified users who refuse to pay $8 per month for individuals or $1,000 per month for organizations would lose their verified status.
He also tweeted that this could include the New York Times if it refused to pay for the subscription. Shortly afterward, the publication’s main Twitter account lost its verified status.
In a tweet, Musk called the New York Times “hypocritical” for insisting on people paying for their subscription while refusing to do the same for Twitter.
NY Times is being incredible hypocritical here, as they are super aggressive about forcing everyone to pay *their* subscription
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023
The publication had previously reiterated that it would not pay for its verified badge nor reimburse its journalists for the status. The New York Times has nearly 55 million followers on Twitter, but it said on Thursday that it would not pay for the verified badge for its institutional accounts, including @nytimes.
Although the publication’s main account lost its check mark, New York Times’ side accounts, including New York Times Opinion, NYT Politics, NYT Climate, and New York Times World, retained their badges as of Sunday.
Also, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s unreadable.
They would have far more real followers if they only posted their top articles.
Same applies to all publications.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023
Other news publications such as the Associated Press and the Washington Post still retain their verified status.
Musk has frequently attacked the New York Times as fake news or propaganda over the past year. In November, he derided the publication as “boring af.”
It is tragic how far The New York Times has fallen – basically just boring af far left brainwashing at this point. The boring part is truly unforgivable!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
The New York Times has likewise criticized Musk. In May, an article claimed that Musk lived in an “elite” community in South Africa “detached from apartheid’s atrocities.”
