Kyle Rittenhouse, the 19-year-old who, at the age of 17, fatally shot two people and wounded another during an anti-racism protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, appears to have bought Twitter’s “verified” badge.
Ever since Elon Musk announced that Twitter would start selling verification, many have vowed never to do so, even if it means losing their blue check mark. Prominent accounts on the right have no such qualms. They are quick to pay the $8 monthly fee to get what was previously only accessible to people the platform (possibly arbitrarily) deemed prominent.
The newly minted list of verified conservatives, “peasants,” in Musk’s words, includes murderers, hate mongers, and at least one feline defecation.
It’s easy to tell the difference between accounts that paid for verification. Just click the check mark next to your screen name. If they paid for it, a message appears that says, “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue.”
“You must not have noticed the blue check mark. I’m elite now!” Rittenhouse, who was acquitted in November 2021 after a jury found him not guilty of murder, wrote on Twitter on Thursday, using a smiley emoji.
Libs of TikTok and Gays Against Groomers which have been suspended multiple times, have paid for verification since Twitter implemented it.
The accounts, run by Chaya Raichik and Jaimee Michell respectively, have been a driving force behind the rising tide of hate and abuse directed at LGBTQ people.
Acquitted killer Kyle Rittenhouse also paid for the verification. After shelling out the $8 from him, Rittenhouse thanked Musk for the privilege of paying for a little blue check mark.
While Twitter’s blue marks were once only awarded to those accounts “prominent in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category” and were a symbol of authority on the platform, the verified badge is now available to anyone willing to pay the monthly fee set by Musk.
TikTok’s Libs, a conservative Twitter account followed by 1.5 million people that regularly mocks liberal values, shared a screenshot of their profile showing the blue tick with the comment “$8,” the price monthly that Twitter Blue subscribers have to pay for the verification of the application.
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