Twitter’s most followed athlete Cristiano Ronaldo LOSES his blue tick
Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has lost his blue tick on Twitter following changes to the platform’s verification rules – despite being its most followed athlete. ALSO READ | Elon Musk changes his Twitter name leaving fans and followers puzzled According to the Daily Mail, the football icon has over 108.3 million followers on South Africa-born Elon Musk’s social media site, but no longer has the ‘legacy […]
Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has lost his blue tick on Twitter following changes to the platform’s verification rules – despite being its most followed athlete.
ALSO READ | Elon Musk changes his Twitter name leaving fans and followers puzzled
According to the Daily Mail, the football icon has over 108.3 million followers on South Africa-born Elon Musk’s social media site, but no longer has the ‘legacy verified checkmark’ which was previously used to confirm the validity of official accounts.
On Thursday, Twitter enforced new rules which saw thousands of accounts lose their blue ticks, regardless of how famous they are.
Users can now pay a monthly subscription of $8 (R145) to sign up to Twitter Blue, which comes with the blue tick along with access to other features such as longer video uploads and an edit button.
RONALDO WAS NOT ALONE IN LOSING TWITTER BLUE TICK
But many have taken umbrage with Musk’s money-making tactics and have chosen not to contribute to the billionaire’s coffers following his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October 2022.
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As reported by The South African website, Ronaldo was certainly not alone in losing his blue tick.
Other celebrities to have lost theirs include Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, Bill Gates, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Donald Trump, the Pope and Oprah Winfrey.
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Meanwhile, as reported by The South African website, while most celebrities lost their coveted blue ticks, a few of Elon Musk’s most public opponents have kept them – whether they like it or not.
Author Stephen King, basketball legend LeBron James and Star Trek actor William Shatner have all retained their blue ticks.
Musk said that he was “paying for a few personally” and confirmed it was “just Shatner, Lebron and King”.
It comes after King tweeted on Thursday: “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. “
Musk replied: “You’re welcome, Namaste.”
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Multiple award-winning singer and actress Bette Midler is among several celebrities who have lost their blue verification ticks after not signing up for Twitter Blue.
Like many others, she took to the platform to share her frustration with her more than two million followers.
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“Elon took my blue check away! I’m unverified!” After all these years and thousands of tweets and free content, this worm has the nerve to de-certify me! she tweeted.
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Actor Ben Stiller shared a post to his 5.6 million followers saying: “No blue check, still feel like me.”
US rapper Ice T also lost his blue tick, before it was reinstated.
“The fact that we’re even discussing blue check marks is a sad moment in society,” he tweeted.