Twitter's verified account hits rock bottom with zero 'following'; unfollows everyone

Twitter's withdrawal of legacy verified accounts might finally be under process as it has begun a mass unfollowing, as per the ANI reports. Twitter has not been following anyone now. On the 'Twitter Verified' account, one can witness that the 'following' has hit the rock bottom as it has reached 'Zero'.  Earlier, Twitter had warned of winding down all the legacy verified accounts from April 1 and even removing the checkmarks for those who still had them but were not paying for a Twitter Blue subscription. However, the microblogging site's account has unfollowed everyone. Further, it is not clear whether "Twitter Verified is following them or not".

The microblogging site introduced verified accounts in 2009 in order to help users identify that celebrities, politicians, companies and brands, news organizations and other accounts "of public interest" were genuine and not impostors or parody accounts. Notably, there weren't any charges required for verification until Musk's takeover. The Twitter Tycoon, Elon Musk launched Twitter Blue with the tick marks as one of the premium perks within two weeks of the company's takeover.

New day, new rules of Twitter 

According to Variety, the microblogging site would remove the verified tick mark status of accounts which were already given the verified status before Elon Musk's takeover. This was eligible only if they have subscribed to Twitter Blue or the business-focused Twitter Verified Organisations plan. The only individual Twitter users who would have verified blue tick marks would be those who would be willing to pay for Twitter Blue, which in the US would cost $ 8 per month via the web and $ 11 per month through the in-app payment on iOS and Android.  Before this, Twitter had declared that "Twitter Blue was now available worldwide", as per ANI reports.  "On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue, " wrote Twitter on March 31 in the social media post.

Verified Organizations is a new way for organizations and their affiliates to distinguish themselves on Twitter. Rather than relying on Twitter to be the sole arbiter of truth for which accounts should be verified, vetted organizations that sign up for https://t.co/1v6wSVKfDb…

— Twitter Verified (@verified)

However, there has been no clarity from Twitter on how it would deal with the accounts of people who have "notable" mentioned on it.  For companies and brands, Twitter recently introduced a gold tick mark and has shifted government accounts to a grey Tick Mark.