X CEO Elon Musk announced last month that the social network would giving away free X Premium features, including verified checkmarks, to anyone who met a specific criteria in relation to their follower counts. Now, that change has started to roll out — and not everyone is happy about it.
The move means that anyone who has more than 2,500 verified subscriber followers will now get X Premium for free while. Anyone who has more than 5,000 verified subscriber followers will receive X Premium Plus for free instead, Musk also confirmed.
But so far a number of people who have been given the free checkmark have taken to the social network to complain about the move. Some have even gone so far as to ask if there is a way to decline the offer with others worried that people will think that they willingly gave X money for their checkmark.
The joy of x
There have been reports that X Premium subscription numbers might not be quite as high as the company would like, and it's as-yet unclear why Musk has taken the decision to start giving it away for free — unless he's hoping that high-profile accounts with blue checkmarks will encourage new subscribers.
If that's the case, he might have misread the situation.
My blue check is back and I just want to make clear I am not paying El*n M*sk for this thanks very muchApril 3, 2024
There doesn't yet appear to be a way to decline the freebie.
According to a screenshot of a message shared by one of those who have now been upgraded to X Premium, the social network says that it "reserves the right to cancel the complimentary subscription."
Some recipients will presumably hope X does just that sooner rather than later.
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