Renowned Kenyan journalist Larry Madowo has publicly refused to pay Elon Musk for Twitter Blue.
Madowo has been on Twitter for 14 years and has amassed around 2.5 million followers, making him a prominent figure on the platform. He was among the thousands of personalities who lost their verification last week but a turn of events saw Madowo’s blue tick restored free of charge during the weekend.
In a recent social media post following the loss of his blue tick, the CNN international correspondent explained his refusal to pay for verification saying that the merging of subscriptions with verification has eroded what Twitter was meant to be – a global town square where it was easy to differentiate authentic voices from scammers, impersonators or frauds.
Furthermore, the merging of subscriptions with verification has turned Twitter into a chaotic free-for-all. It has created a situation where only those who can afford to pay for verification will be able to distinguish themselves from fake accounts.
In the early days of Twitter, verification was a way to distinguish between authentic and parodies. It was a way for users to know that the person behind the account was who they claimed to be. This was particularly important for public figures, such as journalists, politicians, and celebrities. The blue checkmark became a symbol of credibility and authenticity.
This has caused some controversy, as many people believe that verification should be a free service available to all users.
Madowo joined a long list of local and international celebs who lost their verification previously, including Bongo superstar Diamond Platnumz, singer Zuchu, Kim Kardashian, Pope Francis, Beyoncé and BLACKPINK just to name afew.
