Twitter users claim to still have their blue checks even if they haven't paid for them.

Users claim that despite not having paid for Twitter Blue, their blue check marks are still present. Twitter recently announced that as of April 1, it would start removing the blue check marks from those accounts.

The social media company reportedly used to hand out blue checks to accounts that it had reviewed and determined to be "active, significant, and real."

Now, any user who meets the requirements set forth by the firm can purchase the badge for about $8 per month.

As of Monday, it's unclear if any specific Twitter users who had historical blue check marks had them unintentionally removed. But, when you click on the icon, accounts now see a new notification that reads, "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account."

It is difficult to tell from the messages whether an account was verified in accordance with Twitter's previous policies or is purchasing the blue check through Twitter Blue.

Elon Musk, the company's owner, has claimed that Twitter Blue aims to treat all accounts equally and not give any accounts preference, but experts have expressed concern that the loose verification requirements could make it easier for false information to proliferate.

According to Sol Messing, a research associate professor at the Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University, Twitter users with bad intentions may utilise the new sponsored service to obtain more followers and drown out higher-quality material.

Because all the blue checked accounts were, in fact, who they claimed to be, Messing told NPR, Twitter built the verification programme "so that it would be very difficult for anyone to do that."

When Twitter Blue first launched last year, a user posing as Eli Lilly, a major pharmaceutical business, tweeted that the company was giving away free insulin. The business rejected the reports and issued an apology, but not before the phoney tweet garnered thousands of likes and retweets and briefly caused Lilly's stock price to decline.

The New York Times looks to be the only account whose verification has been lost. a user's meme in reaction 

The New York Times looks to be the only account whose verification has been lost. Musk said, "Well ok, we'll take it off then," in response to a user's meme about the newspaper refusing to pay for the check.

Twitter Blue costs $8 a month or $84 if you pay for the entire year up front. Users can also edit tweets and enable text message two-factor authentication with this membership.

According to Twitter, accounts that pay for the blue check must adhere to a list of criteria, including being older than 30 days and having a name and profile picture that haven't recently been updated.