Twitter to Stop Unverified Accounts From Appearing in Recommended Tweets [Updated]

Twitter will prevent posts from unverified accounts from appearing in its "For You" algorithmic feed starting Saturday, April 15, CEO Elon Musk announced on Tuesday. The new policy means that only posts originating from paid-for Twitter Blue accounts will be included in the platform's stream of recommended tweets.

Twitter Feature
In a post announcing the impending change, Musk said the decision to no longer recommend tweets from accounts that don't have a blue verified badge was "the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over."

In the same tweet, Musk revealed that the ability to vote in polls on the social media platform would also require verification for the same reason. "It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle," claimed the Twitter chief.

In an earlier post, Musk said that paid verification significantly increases the cost of using bots and makes it easier to identify them.

Twitter relaunched its Twitter Blue subscription option in December after the initial launch saw accounts with blue checkmarks being used to impersonate businesses, celebrities, and other high-profile individuals. The only requirement to get a blue checkmark was to spend $8 (or $11 if subscribing from the iOS app).

To prevent impersonations, Twitter Blue subscribers now receive a blue checkmark next to their name only after they verify their phone number and their account has been reviewed.


Subscribers who change their username, display name, or profile photo, temporarily lose the blue checkmark until their account is reviewed again. However, Twitter does not ask for any form of official identification to verify ownership at any point in the sign-up process, which some users argue calls into question Musk's logic for blocking unverified accounts from its "For You" tab.

Twitter last week also said that it would begin to wind down its "legacy" verified program and remove "legacy verified" blue badges on April 1.

Twitter Blue has become a tentpole policy of the platform as Musk seeks to find new ways to generate revenue. Since the Tesla CEO took over, the market price of the company is said to have tanked. According to a New York Times report, last week Musk told employees in an email memo that Twitter is now valued at $20 billion, which is less than half of the $44 billion that Musk paid for the company last year.

Update: The Twitter chief appears to have backtracked on his new paid-for "For You" policy following a user backlash – Musk tweeted later in the day: "Forgot to mention that accounts you follow directly will also be in For You, since you have explicitly asked for them."

Tag: Twitter

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Top Rated Comments

SW3029 Avatar
25 months ago
My man Musk knows how to ruin a platform. The For You feed was always annoying, but now it's only going to be filled with tweets from Musk fans who pay a billionaire $8 a month?

And polls will also only be able to be voted on by Musk fans who pay the man $8 a month. Gee - I wonder what the results will be of any of the BS polls Space Karen loves tweeting every other week.

Musk is a joke.

The only good thing about him buying Twitter is that it destroys the myth that he is any kind of genius. The guy has less business acumen than the average person who just earned their MBA.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wenepyru Avatar
25 months ago
Well yeah! Everyone knows that only those who pay for Twitter Blue make any content worth consuming! /s
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JamonBull Avatar
25 months ago
So many of Space Karen’s moves are insanely baffling. Mastodon (Ivory) is the way.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bustycat Avatar
25 months ago
I always ignore the recommended tweets so it doesn’t matter.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wanha Avatar
25 months ago
Face it, folks - Musk is right:

the "for you" section is going to be so much better when it's made up of nothing but trolls and cryptopumps

Seriously though, this move is really a gift:

All blockable accounts in one handy tab.

Thanks, Elon! ?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jmausmuc Avatar
25 months ago
I think the best thing people can do is just use Twitter and other problems like it less.

I feel it brings out the worst in people. They seem to thrive more on telling other people they are wrong then being actually helpful.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)