Twitter restores blue tick to select accounts

Some Twitter accounts with more than one million followers have had their blue tick badges re-instated by Twitter without paying to subscribe.

Davido, Kate Henshaw, Wizkid, media houses and other organisations have had their blue tick restored.

Also, Beyoncé, Harry Kane, Richard Osman and Victoria Beckham are among those to have their blue tick back.

The BBC News Twitter account also has its gold badge again, but has not paid for it.

Before the platform was bought by Elon Musk, the blue tick was a badge of verification given for free by Twitter.

It was originally used as a tool of authentication, designed to help stop fake accounts and the spread of misinformation.

Now it is a symbol that an account has subscribed to a premium service called Twitter Blue – and there is a verification process attached with making the payment.

There are various prices depending on where the subscription is made but it is around $8 per month.

Those with a blue tick from the original verification process, who decided not to pay the subscription fee, began losing their ticks on 20 April.

The broadcaster James O’Brien, who has 1.1m followers, is one of those who has now got his blue tick back after losing it. He confirmed that he had not paid for his account.

He also noted that some accounts with fewer than 1m followers also appeared to have had their blue ticks restored, “anointed entirely at Elon Musk’s discretion”.