Some users on X are finding themselves to be blue-checked once again. They never asked for it.

Elon Musk's app is handing out verified checkmarks to users who have more than 2,500 "verified subscriber followers", providing such users with free Premium memberships. Those with over 5,000 verified subscriber followers will receive Premium Plus. Musk announced the move on X last week.

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No one can forget that Musk's takeover of Twitter, now X, involved a heavy rebrand of the blue tick. Musk vowed to remove the app's legacy verification program – which he referred to as a "lords & peasants system" – and replaced this with a series of questionable moves, including the CEO personally paying for some celebrities to retain their legacy blue ticks. For others, acquiring the now meaningless blue tick meant paying at least $8 per month.

But now, users are automatically verified once again and most of them aren't happy about it.

• Yet another former Twitter/X exec is suing Elon Musk for millions in unpaid severance
• Elon Musk's X funds lawsuit against Jack Dorsey's Block
• Twitter/X's ChatGPT rival Grok is now open source. Here's how to get it.
• Elon Musk's X has already backed off its new anti-trans hate policy
• Elon Musk is arguing with his own Community Notes on X

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Users may have the option to hide their blue ticks, another facet of X's ill-advised verification program. Looks like most of the new subscribers would rather opt for that, than to have people think they paid to be blue-checked on Musk's app.