Namibian legacy Twitter brigade: We won’t pay
Many Namibian public figures, who lost their legacy Twitter verifications when the platform’s South African-born owner Elon Musk pulled the plug on users who haven’t paid the new monthly US$8 (N$144) subscription, said they will not pay to get the blue checkmark back.
Twitter accounts verified through the old system, usually on the basis of their owners’ public status, are known as "legacy verified" accounts.
All such accounts in Namibia lost their verification last week, after Musk placed a price on the blue tick for both individuals and institutional users of the social media platform.
Globally, Twitter removed its legacy verification badges from the accounts of notable figures like music icon Beyoncé, football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo, former United States president Donald Trump, actors and journalists.
But over the weekend, many accounts with one million or more followers got their blue tick back without paying – as Musk faced resistance from leading figures who declared that they will not pay for the free speech the platform was once known for.
Meaningless
The notable Namibian legacy verified accounts that have lost their blue badge of honour include that of First Lady Monica Geingos, The Namibian, the newspaper’s founder Gwen Lister, activist Job Amupanda, members of parliament Inna Hengari, Patience Masua and Tobie Aupindi as well as many companies such as Old Mutual, MTC and the ministry of information.
Lister said she will not pay for the tick under the current circumstances.
“Legacy verification was simply a way of establishing your real identity, i.e you are who you say you are, and you had to prove it.
“With the process of verification now removed, the checkmark has become meaningless, and anyone who pays can get it - even anonymous, fake and hate-fuelled accounts. Happy to be without verification under the present circumstances,” she told Namibian Sun.
Masua, currently the country’s youngest member of parliament, said she will not pay for what has become a ‘superficial tick’.
Similarly, Popular Democratic Movement’s Hengari said: “I won’t be subscribing to anything as there’s no need”.
Amupanda, who has 156 000 followers on Twitter and has declared his interest to run for the Namibian presidency next year, said he was still contemplating his next step.
“I have received various suggestions, but I haven’t made up my mind yet,” the Affirmative Repositioning honcho said.
Twitter accounts verified through the old system, usually on the basis of their owners’ public status, are known as "legacy verified" accounts.
All such accounts in Namibia lost their verification last week, after Musk placed a price on the blue tick for both individuals and institutional users of the social media platform.
Globally, Twitter removed its legacy verification badges from the accounts of notable figures like music icon Beyoncé, football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo, former United States president Donald Trump, actors and journalists.
But over the weekend, many accounts with one million or more followers got their blue tick back without paying – as Musk faced resistance from leading figures who declared that they will not pay for the free speech the platform was once known for.
Meaningless
The notable Namibian legacy verified accounts that have lost their blue badge of honour include that of First Lady Monica Geingos, The Namibian, the newspaper’s founder Gwen Lister, activist Job Amupanda, members of parliament Inna Hengari, Patience Masua and Tobie Aupindi as well as many companies such as Old Mutual, MTC and the ministry of information.
Lister said she will not pay for the tick under the current circumstances.
“Legacy verification was simply a way of establishing your real identity, i.e you are who you say you are, and you had to prove it.
“With the process of verification now removed, the checkmark has become meaningless, and anyone who pays can get it - even anonymous, fake and hate-fuelled accounts. Happy to be without verification under the present circumstances,” she told Namibian Sun.
Masua, currently the country’s youngest member of parliament, said she will not pay for what has become a ‘superficial tick’.
Similarly, Popular Democratic Movement’s Hengari said: “I won’t be subscribing to anything as there’s no need”.
Amupanda, who has 156 000 followers on Twitter and has declared his interest to run for the Namibian presidency next year, said he was still contemplating his next step.
“I have received various suggestions, but I haven’t made up my mind yet,” the Affirmative Repositioning honcho said.
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