New Twitter owner Elon Musk has revealed that verified users will soon have to pay a monthly subscription fee of $8 (£7) in order to retain their blue-tick status.
The eccentric billionaire completed a $44 billion (£38 billion) takeover of the social media network last month and immediately set about firing most of the company's executives, appointing himself as the sole director.
There had been speculation that the 51-year-old was planning to charge verified users - comprising politicians, celebrities, journalists and other public figures - $20 a month for continued use of the status, but on Tuesday he confirmed a price point of $8.
He wrote: "Twitter's current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
"You will also get, priority in replies, mentions & search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam; ability to post long video & audio; half as many ads.
"This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators."
In 2021 Twitter posted revenue of $5 billion but still managed to lose $221m overall, albeit down from a $1.1 billion loss the year before.
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