YouTube Gaming streamer Rachell “Valkyrae” revealed on April 23, 2023 that she was given a verified Twitter subscription without payment. Despite not paying for the controversial Twitter Blue subscription, Valkyrae received the verification badge and called out the social media platform for “lying.” Similarly, French-Canadian Twitch personality Felix “xQc” was also verified on Twitter without payment, saying he was unable to pay for the subscription due to his Canadian payment methods. Both Valkyrae and xQc’s revelations received massive online attention and sparked humor and speculation among the community. It appears that popular social media figures are being given the verified badge as a marketing ploy. These allegations closely follow acclaimed novelist Stephen King’s similar allegation against Twitter two days earlier.
