On April 23, 2023, a Twitter user claimed that the only way to cancel a subscription to the platform's blue-check authentication system was by sending a direct message to Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
"[W]ait apparently the only way to cancel twitter blue is to DM Elon???," the user tweeted, with an image supposedly showing a message from Twitter. It read: "To cancel your Twitter Blue subscription, you must send a direct message to Elon Musk with a valid reason for your cancellation."
(@0xgaut/Twitter)
The claim was false. Users who subscribe to Twitter Blue by paying roughly $8 monthly, or $84 annually, do not need to message Musk to cancel. The image appeared to be a digitally edited version of a page displayed to verified users who, in the mobile or desktop versions of the site, may click "More" (underneath "Profile"), "Twitter Blue," "Preferences," and then "Manage Subscription."
Snopes reached out to the user who posted the claim, asking if the tweet was intended to be satirical. We have not received a response. We will update this report when — or if — that changes.
Additionally, we performed a reverse-image search, a process that scans the web for similar-looking images, and did not uncover any examples of the screenshot other than the one attached to the viral tweet.
In reality, to cancel a subscription to Twitter Blue, the platform's Help Center states:
If you ever need to cancel Twitter Blue, you can manage your subscription from your Twitter Blue settings on the platform where you subscribed. Your Twitter Blue features will expire at the end of your billing cycle.
To avoid further charges, cancel your Twitter Blue subscription at least 24 hours before the auto-renewal period. Canceling won't give you a refund for amounts already paid.
Note: If you subscribe to the new Twitter Blue and cancel your subscription, your blue checkmark will remain until the end of the subscription term you paid for, unless your account is suspended or the blue checkmark is otherwise removed by Twitter for any reason.
Furthermore, while signed into Twitter, non-subscribers who may want to sign up can find information by navigating to "Twitter Blue" on the left side of their screens. After clicking that option, they'll see a message that says they can "cancel anytime." There was no requirement about sending a direct message to the Twitter CEO.
Twitter Blue is a version of a previously free blue-checkmark service provided to celebrities, politicians, businesses, athletes, and journalists, among others, to authenticate their profiles. Musk announced the paid system in November 2022, spurring a number of rumors about the change. For example, in April 2023, Snopes fact-checked a false claim that Musk had increased the fee from $8 to $15 per month.
On April 20, 2023, Twitter announced it was removing blue checkmarks from profiles that had earned them under the free system. A number of high-profile people, however, reportedly retained the symbol without paying.
In addition to fact-checking false claims about Twitter Blue, Snopes has also debunked rumors alleging that Musk designated U.S. President Joe Biden's personal Twitter account a business account; Twitter's new name was 'Titter,' and the billionaire added a "pop" sound to Twitter's "Like" button.