[Update: The Intercept updated its report, noting that X confirmed that a policy to temporarily remove checkmarks from verified accounts that change their profile pictures was the issue here. UAW told The Intercept that their account’s profile picture was updated in conjunction with the walkout.]
Last night when the clock struck midnight, nearly 13,000 workers at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis went on strike after the so-called “Big Three” car companies failed to reach an agreement with United Auto Workers (UAW). By Friday morning, UAW discovered that X, the platform formerly known as Twitter—in what appeared to be a petty move by platform owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk—had stripped their account’s verified status, The Intercept reported.
Wait. They take away the check mark you paid for if you change your profile pic?
Yes it’s from the days when the blue check had a meaning. You could get “verified” then change the name to Elon musk, put a neckbeard as profile pic, tweet some insane conspiracies, and people would mistake your stuff for the real one.
Now the blue check it means just that you’re an Elon Stan, a Nazi or both, so the problem just solved by itself