Twitter begins removing legacy blue checks

April 20 (UPI) -- Twitter on Thursday began removing legacy blue checks from accounts, as the platform shifts to a subscription-based system for awarding checkmarks.

NBC News reported that celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian had lost their check marks. Media figures like CNN's Christiane Amanpour and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow also no longer have theirs.

The tech company previously said it would be winding down blue checks at the beginning of April, as it switches to a new policy where users have to pay $8 per month to get a blue check.

Twitter first began adding verification labels to certain accounts in 2009 after someone on the service impersonated baseball manager Tony La Russa and La Russa sued the company.

Last week, Musk tweeted that the "final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20."

Some government officials like Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Brian Mast and Ilhan Omar, no longer have verification on their personal accounts. However, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene still has her blue check.

The new policy could be a way for Musk to raise revenue after he bought the company for $44 billion but now says the company is valued at around $20 billion.