As part of Twitter’s new verification policy, businesses and government organisations in Kenya will now have to pay a monthly charge of Sh132,520.
On March 23, the Elon Musk-owned company revealed that starting on April 1, verified accounts would lose their verification marks and the legacy blue badge would be phased out. The indication of validity would thereafter be for sale. For Kenyan businesses, ministries, and other governmental organisations who want a gold check mark verifying their account, Twitter has set a monthly charge of $1,000 (Sh132,520) and a monthly fee of Sh6,626 ($50) for accounts belonging to CEOs, directors, employees, and subsidiaries. The new rules could result in the government and businesses shelling out millions of shillings each month to verify every Twitter account.
“A Twitter verified organisations subscription is $1,000/month (plus any applicable tax) and $50/month (plus any applicable tax) for each additional affiliate in the US. Prices may vary by region and are subject to change,” Twitter stated.
If a company or nonprofit organisation purchases the subscription, they will receive a gold checkmark and a square avatar; if a government agency or multilateral organisation, will receive a grey checkmark and a circle avatar.
A blue, gold, or grey checkmark, as well as an affiliate badge—a tiny representation of the parent company’s profile picture—are displayed next to a connected account’s checkmark to indicate that it has been verified. Several Kenyan businesses have recently paid the fines, including Statehouse, KCB Group, National Bank, I&M Bank Group, Equity Bank, Co-operative Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Absa Bank.
Stanbic Bank, Kenya Airlines, Safaricom, NCBA Bank, and others are also included.
“By subscribing, organisations can access our new tool to manage verification, meaning you have full control over your organisation’s presence on Twitter. You will be able to add and remove affiliated accounts at any time. Affiliates must accept an invite and double opt-in in order to receive verification,” Twitter added.
The business has also changed how individual account verification works. A blue badge will cost users Sh1,457 ($11) per month. Verified accounts demonstrate to users on the social media platform that the profile is legitimate and authentic—a crucial concern for business brands and individuals looking to stay in touch with their audience. The new adjustments are expected to aid the corporation in increasing sales as advertising suffers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic book.
Mr. Musk took over control of Twitter Inc. with harsh efficiency, sacking key executives while offering little explanation of how he plans to realise the goals he has set forth for the significant social media network. The second-richest man in the world has said he plans to use Twitter as the basis for a “super app” that does everything from money transfers to shopping and ride-hailing. Yet, Twitter is having trouble retaining its most committed users, who are crucial to the company. Even though they only make up 10% of monthly users overall, these “heavy tweeters” are responsible for 90% of all tweets and 50% of global revenue.