The legacy blue checkmarks were previously granted to journalists, public officials, and celebrities for free as a measure against impersonation and spam
Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Virat Kohli, and Pope, among others, have all lost their Twitter blue ticks. From Bollywood’s biggest stars to sports personalities and even the country’s biggest political party, BJP, have suffered the same fate thanks to Elon Musk.
The legacy blue checkmarks were previously granted to journalists, public officials, and celebrities for free as a measure against impersonation and spam.
However, Twitter officially discontinued the legacy blue checkmarks on April 20, 2022, under Elon Musk’s ownership. Twitter now restricts verification marks only to paid users, businesses, government entities, and officials.
Here are the top Indian personalities and entities who lost Twitter blue:
BOLLYWOOD STARS
The legacy blue was no longer visible on the accounts of Bollywood stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Deepika Padukone.
SPORTS PERSONALITIES
Both former and current sportspersons including cricketer Virat Kholi and tennis legend Sania Mira lost the blue tick. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was not even spared.
POLITICIANS AND PARTIES
INTERNATIONAL FIGURES
High-profile users who lost their blue checks Thursday included Pope Francis, Oprah Winfrey and former US President Donald Trump.
WHAT NOW
For users who still had a blue check Thursday, a popup message indicated that the account “is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”
Verifying a phone number simply means that the person has a phone number and they verified that they have access to it — it does not confirm the person’s identity.