Count LeBron James as one of those who won't pay for Twitter's blue check mark

Tomorrow, allegedly, Twitter owner Elon Musk will be taking away the verified status of those with blue check marks.

Those legacy accounts have been in place since 2009.

The old landlord at Twitter provided them to hopefully eliminate imposter accounts that would spread disinformation and they didn’t come easily. It took Gannett buying the Beacon Journal to get that blue check mark next to my name.

Now? The new landlord (Musk) wants users who want verified status to pay up for the privilege of proving who they are. That noble cause of not spreading disinformation? To heck with it.

For the price of just $8 …that’s eight bucks…800 cents you too can be verified. If you don’t pony up, no check mark for you. That won't buy a succulent corned beef sammich at the Diamond Deli.

It's cheap right? It's extortion. I won’t be paying. You know who else won’t be paying the Internet ransom?

LeBron James. He informed his more than 52 million followers via - what else - a tweet.

I don’t blame him. Those who actually tweet regularly or just lurk have watched as Twitter has turned into more of a cesspool since Musk overpaid for it. That $44 billion investment now as a valuation of $20 billion, according an internal Twitter memo.

You know who else ain’t paying? Major news organizations.

Of course, tomorrow is April Fools Day, so this could be an elaborate joke. With Musk, however, is there anyway to tell given his missteps with the world’s public square since he acquired it?

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: LeBron James not worried about Twitter blue check mark disappearing