Elon Musk and author Stephen King debated on Tuesday over a report that Twitter is preparing to charge users as much as $20 per month for verification.
The Verge reported on Monday that Musk, who now heads Twitter, has plans to change the social media network's Twitter Blue premium plan, upping the price from $4.99 per month to about $20 per month and making a subscription necessary in order to have a blue checkmark showing that a user is verified.
King said in a tweet on Monday: "$20 a month to keep my blue check? F— that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron."
Musk responded on Tuesday, saying, "We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?"
Actress Lynda Carter also decried the move, comparing it unfavorably to her famous character, Wonder Woman.
Musk later said in a tweet: "Twitter's current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark is bulls---. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month."
He also noted that the price will be "adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity," and said "there will be a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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