Twitter descended into chaos in April 2023 with the final rollout of the Twitter Blue paid verification system, as some prominent accounts unexpectedly received blue check marks while others didn't, and many poked fun at the haphazard verification process on the social media platform.
Twitter Blue is an opt-in paid subscription that gives any user who pays $8 per month a blue check mark on Twitter. Previously, the check mark was free and granted to those who went through an identity verification process, particularly journalists, famous people, and companies.
On April 20, Twitter began stripping blue check marks from public figures who chose not to opt into the paid service, including celebrities and journalists who had been verified before Musk's takeover. Then, in a partial reversal, Musk announced that he was personally paying for some high profile users to retain their check marks, whether they requested it or not. By late April, it became apparent that blue check marks were simply being returned to specific accounts with more than a million followers.
The haphazard process resulted in many celebrities opting to cancel their accounts instead of retaining check marks they didn't ask for.
On April 23, a screenshot of a very irritated Musk apparently tweeting his frustration at the rollout went viral, in which he allegedly wrote (among other things), "Ahh fuck it, I'm closing this site, fuck you and fuck Twitter, I can never post a single goddamn thread in here without you tweeters making tweets in some way or another. [...] Thanks for running me out of my own goddamn website."
The full screenshot of the tweet is visible below, as shared by Twitter user @SA__moment:
There is no evidence that Musk tweeted this out in the first place. Nor does the wording of the alleged tweet match Musk's usual ways of expressing himself. Furthermore, if Musk did announce that he was closing the social media platform, it would be a much bigger news item than a screenshot gone viral. Such an announcement would have an impact on the stock market and also make headlines worldwide. Nothing of the kind happened.