Twitter to delay badge changes until after U.S. midterm elections, the New York Times reports

(Reuters) – Twitter is delaying the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers of its new $8 a month service until after Tuesday’s midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday will decide whether Republicans or President Joe Biden’s Democrats will control Congress.

Changes to Twitter’s verification process came a week after Elon Musk took over the social media company in a $44 billion deal. On Saturday, Twitter updated its app in Apple’s App Store to begin charging $8 for blue check verification marks.

Twitter recently laid off 50% of its employees, including employees on the trust and safety team, the company’s head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth said in a tweet earlier this week.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Musk has directed Twitter’s teams to find up to $1 billion in annual infrastructure cost savings.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)