Twitter strikes New York Times' verified badge on Elon Musk's orders – The Washington Post

Twitter removed the “verified” badge from the New York Times’ main account on Sunday, a move that billionaire owner Elon Musk pushed for overnight after learning that the news organization would not pay for its Twitter Blue service.The move continues Musk’s years-long grudge against U.S. journalists who have reported critically on him, and it will raise the risks of impersonation. It also contradicts an internal plan, first reported by the Times on Thursday, to keep the badges on for the 10,000 most-followed organizations, regardless of whether they paid.Twitter had said that it would begin winding down its traditional verification program starting Saturday, removing the blue check mark icons it had for years applied to the accounts of verified companies, journalists and public figures.In its place, Twitter is implementing a pay-for-play system that would give the badge to anyone who pays for it — money the company desperately needs to make up for its plunging advertising revenue and billions of dollars in debt. Twitter Blue will cost users about $8 a month, while businesses wanting verification will be charged $1,000 a month.By Sunday morning, the Times — Twitter’s 24th-most-followed account, with more than 54 million followers — was one of only
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