American writer Stephen King suggested that Twitter owner Elon Musk donate the $8 he pays for his blue verification tick on the social network to the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, which helps the Ukrainian army.
"It's only eight dollars, so maybe Mr. Musk could add a little more," King wrote.
I think Mr. Musk should give my blue check to charity. I recommend the Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. It's only $8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could add a bit more.
– Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 22, 2023
On April 21, Twitter started removing blue checkmarks from users' verified accounts. After Musk bought the social network in October, Twitter introduced a $8 fee per tick.
The entrepreneur warned that users who do not subscribe to Twitter Blue will lose the verification icon in early April.
Many celebrities (for example, the Pope and Leonardo DiCaprio) did not subscribe, and Twitter removed the blue icon.
However, Stephen King and some others still have the checkmark. Musk said that he personally paid for Stephen King's subscription.
In November 2022, King criticized Musk for the decision to introduce paid verification and said he would delete his account if this happened.
"My account says I signed up for Twitter Blue. I didn't. My account says that I provided my phone number. I did not do that," he wrote.
"Please, namaste," Musk replied.
Background. As a reminder, it has recently become known that Twitter's algorithms hide posts about Ukraine, which means that posts about Ukraine are not shown to a wide audience.