Is the liberal media going to go apoplectic over a blue checkmark on Twitter? That could serve as the next tantrum from the left after Elon Musk removed it from The New York Times's account. The liberal publication announced they wouldn't pay for their verification status, prompting Musk to strip it. The account has nearly 60 million followers. Even without the checkmark, the reach isn't impacted; it's The New York Times. The rage that could come from this overhaul exemplifies the bubble mentality: people outside of the Acela Corridor couldn't care less about this social media tweak from a private company.
The Times will not be banned or suspended—it's all about the fake status the checkmark holds, which was already viewed with disdain by scores on the platform. For a good reason: the accounts that obtained this rank were usually insufferable leftists. The blue checkmarks were viewed as the online elitists who considered their posts and opinions superior and without fault. It's not a hard stretch, given who employed them. Now, with Musk at the helm, there's reportedly a mass reorganization, though it doesn't appear as extensive as advertised (via The NYT):
A day after Twitter was supposed to begin removing verified check marks from accounts that wouldn't pay for the platform’s new subscription service, many verified accounts appear to have kept their check marks — except for The New York Times’.
The newspaper's main account, which has 54.9 million followers, no longer had a check mark Sunday. Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted early Sunday that the newspaper's page would lose the verification symbol — the only public indicator of an account’s legitimacy — after the Times announced it wouldn't pay to keep it.
Musk's announcement came in response to a Twitter user, DogeDesigner, who tweeted at 12:25 a.m. ET Sunday saying, "New York Times says It Won’t Pay For Twitter Verification," accompanied by a laughing emoji and a meme featuring the Times' logo and Musk saying, "See, no one cares!"
Musk responded to the tweet two minutes later, saying, "Oh ok, we’ll take it off then."
He followed the tweet up with two others about 45 minutes later disparaging the Times, including one that called its reporting "propaganda" and another that said "their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea."
Twitter announced last month that it would begin winding down its former free verification system on Saturday, removing the check marks from accounts the company had previously determined were authentic and in the public interest. But many verified accounts still had their check marks Sunday afternoon.
Some of the Times’ other Twitter accounts — including New York Times World, NYT Science and New York Times Opinion — also retained their verified check marks Sunday afternoon.
Twitter didn't respond to a request for comment.
Musk appeared unapologetic about stripping The Times of their checkmark.
The real tragedy of @NYTimes is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023
Also, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s unreadable.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023
They would have far more real followers if they only posted their top articles.
Same applies to all publications.
One account has lost its verification badge: NYT, for saying it wasn’t going to pay for it pic.twitter.com/FdCdN0YUE9
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) April 2, 2023
"The real tragedy of the NY Times is that their propaganda isn't even interesting," he wrote.
"Also, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It's unreadable. They would have far more real followers if they only posted their top articles. Same applies to all publications," he added.