The blue check mark in the X, which used to mean that an account was official, was made available for purchase by anyone, including bots. However, now it is again being given away for free to certain users, but not all of them are happy about it.

According to 9to5Mac, Elon Musk has introduced new changes to the account verification system, and now users with 2500 thousand subscribers with a blue check mark get Premium for free. If you have 5,000 subscribers with a checkmark, you get Premium+ for free.

In a way, it is a confirmation of the status of people with a large audience, opinion leaders, journalists, etc. However, this would make sense if these ticks could not be bought so easily, which means that even verified accounts cannot be immune to being spoofed.

Several accounts that have already received such free verification have expressed their dissatisfaction. For example, WIRED journalist Lauren Goode wrote to X that she had received a tick back. But she immediately clarified that she did not pay Elon Musk for this.

While Premium or Premium+ have their advantages, on X they are often associated with various accounts that use the benefits of the tick to promote fraudulent posts about cryptocurrency or bots. In addition, there is reportedly no way for journalists and other users who receive the ticker for free to opt out.

Earlier it also became known that even members of terrorist organizations bought a premium subscription and received a blue tick.