New York Times says it won't pay for Twitter verified check mark

[1/2] A pedestrian walks by the New York Times building in Manhattan, New York, U.S., December 8, 2022. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

April 2 (Reuters) - The New York Times (NYT.N) will not pay a monthly fee to get verified check mark status on Twitter, a spokesperson for the newspaper said hours after it lost the verified badge on the social media platform.

According to new Twitter policy, verified check marks are now offered only through a paid subscription. Organizations will have to shell out $1,000 a month to obtain gold check marks while individuals can get blue checks for a starting price of $7 in the United States.

"We also will not reimburse reporters for Twitter Blue for personal accounts, except in rare instances where this status would be essential for reporting purposes," the spokesperson added.

Politico also will not offer to pay for its staff's Twitter blue verifications, according to a memo sent to staff seen by Reuters.

Twitter had previously announced that from April 1 several accounts will lose the check marks as the social media company begins winding down its legacy verified program.

Twitter did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Axios previously reported that The White House will not pay to have its staff's official Twitter profiles continue to be verified.

Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Bill Berkrot

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