Legacy blue ticks have been removed from Twitter as the social media site continues its push to drive more people towards signing up for Twitter Blue.
Twitter Verified tweeted that legacy verified checkmarks would be removed from the site on April 20, with the main way of getting a blue tick being to sign up for Twitter Blue, with an £8 monthly fee for those based in the UK.
The legacy checkmarks began disappearing towards the end of Thursday.
Some of the biggest accounts losing their ticks included those of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, cricketer Virat Kohli and former US president Donald Trump, as well as the official Twitter page for the pope.
Comedian Ricky Gervais let his 15.1 million followers know that his blue tick had gone.
“My blue tick has gone. I’m not sure if I’m really me or not,” he tweeted, alongside a zoomed in image of himself.
British comedian and presenter Richard Osman quote-tweeted the official post from Twitter Verified about the removal of the legacy verified checkmarks after losing his, writing: “Farewell blue tick, old friend. Don’t forget, always set your feed to ‘Following’ rather than ‘For You’.
“Then you’ll keep seeing the people you actually follow, and not people who’ve paid for attention.”
Matt Hancock also had his tick removed:
But Nadine Dorries retained her blue tick.
The former secretary of state who now works for Talk TV has retained the check mark because her account is “subscribed to Twitter Blue”.
Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker has also kept his blue tick, with his profile mentioning the account is subscribed to Twitter Blue.
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