Twitter restarts subscriber service after debacle

NEW YORK (AP) – Twitter is trying again to launch its premium service, a month after a previous attempt failed.

The social media company announced on Saturday that it would allow users to buy subscriptions to Twitter Blue to get a blue tick and access special features starting Monday.

The blue tick was originally given to companies, celebrities, government agencies and journalists who were verified by the platform.

After Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, he launched a service that grants blue checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. But it was inundated with fraudulent accounts, including those posing as Musk’s company Tesla and SpaceX, prompting Twitter to shut down the service days after it launched.

The newly launched service costs $8 per month for web users and $11 per month for iPhone users. According to Twitter, subscribers see fewer ads, can post longer videos, and their tweets are more prominent.