On October 6, Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale claimed that he has Twitter Blue subscription for a while now. His statement came at the time when Twitter Blue services await launch in India. For those who are unaware, in June 2021, Twitter announced its first subscription services for users of two countries Canada and Australia which was later extended to the US and New Zealand. The paid subscription offered an array of additional features to the users.
Initially priced at $2.99 per month, the cost was raised to $4.99 in the USA, $6.49 in Canada and $6.99 in Australia and New Zealand. The service was not made available outside these countries, although Twitter was planning to launch it in other countries gradually and was conducting trials for the same.
When Elon Musk took over Twitter, he announced that Twitter Blue services would soon become open to all users. He also announced that the verification of accounts will be made a feature of Twitter Blue, as he said anyone subscribed to Twitter Blue will get a verification badge. Those who already got verified accounts will also need to shift to Twitter Blue and pay up the price of $8 per month. However, Musk said that the price might vary country-to-country based on purchasing power. On October 6, the roll-out of revamped Twitter Blue began in five countries.
Saket Gokhale said he has a Twitter Blue subscription
Saket, in a Twitter thread, talked about how Twitter will become a product with Twitter Blue and the company will have to follow consumer laws in India. He claimed that earlier it was free so the consumer laws were not applicable. Amidst the tweets, he shared a screenshot claiming he has already subscribed to the paid services long ago.
He wrote, “For the record: I’ve been a Twitter Blue subscriber for months now. This is for Musk fanbois who are going on all about “oh yes we gonna make them liberals pay & that’s why they’re outraged”. I’m far from outraged, thanks.”
For the record: I’ve been a Twitter Blue subscriber for months now.
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) November 6, 2022
This is for Musk fanbois who are going on all about “oh yes we gonna make them liberals pay & that’s why they’re outraged”.
I’m far from outraged, thanks. pic.twitter.com/lMSkZqbnfl
His statement raised several questions as the Blue service is yet to launch in India. Last year in December, 91 Mobiles revealed that they had spotted the Blue feature ahead of the official release in India. It was widely reported by the tech news portals. In its report, 91 Mobiles said that they noticed the Twitter Blue icon on a social media handle hinting the rollout would soon begin in India. However, no official word from Twitter ever came.
As of now, Elon Musk has suggested that Twitter Blue will be launched in India in less than a month while replying to a user from India.
Hopefully, less than a month
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 5, 2022
The Twitter Blue link redirects to the home page
OpIndia tried searching for the Twitter Blue option in the settings. We found that no link to Twitter Blue was visible anywhere in the settings. However, if we search Twitter Blue in settings, the link does show up.
However, when we clicked on the link, it redirected us to the home page. It clearly shows that the feature is not available for Indian users. If Gokhale is to be believed, it is unclear how he got his hands on the feature.
Twitter verification badges were sold for $15,000, claimed user
Notably, some users have claimed that Twitter employees were selling verification badges for hefty amounts. Is that possible that other premium features are also up for grab after paying the price? With thousands of Twitter employees losing jobs and “rumours” that verification badges were available for sale, it will be interesting to see if Musk initiates an internal investigation and make the outcome of the probe public.
