The New York Times does not pay, no blue check. Thus begins the Twitter war

TURIN. The war of the blue check has begun, and the first case concerns the New York Times. The newspaper has announced that it will not pay to have the blue check on the social network, one of the controversial innovations introduced by Elon Musk after the acquisition. It is a move of principle, but with political weight, and challenges the diktat of Mister Tesla, who has always defended his line: “Social media that don’t do the same will fail”, he said, explaining that it is easy to “create 10,000 or 100,000 fake Twitter accounts using a single home computer and artificial intelligence.

In the United States, the subscription plan, called “Twitter Blue”, costs $8 a month or $84 a year or $11 a month if purchased through the Apple App Store. Since its creation in 2009, the blue check has become a hallmark that has helped the platform become a trusted forum for journalists and activists. Yet there is very little willingness to comply. “Not only will we not pay, but we will not reimburse journalists for personal accounts, except in rare cases,” he said. explained the New York Times, which has already lost the famous check. Politico and the White House are on the same line. Yet Musk does not back down.