Mashable: Over the weekend, some high-profile users on the social platform, including deceased stars, were mysteriously re-verified with no explanation from the company.

Twitter's verification system has been causing quite a stir lately, and it looks like Elon Musk is at the center of the latest chaos. Over the weekend, some high-profile users on the social platform, including deceased stars, were mysteriously re-verified with no explanation from the company.

It all started a few days ago when Twitter removed almost all the blue verified checkmarks from accounts that were put in place before Musk acquired the platform. Musk had previously announced that he wanted to charge users $8 a month to get that coveted checkmark, claiming that the previous verification program was corrupt and rife with favoritism. But things took a turn when Musk personally verified the accounts of three celebrity Twitter users, including LeBron James, Stephen King, and William Shatner.

You’re welcome namaste 

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
Now, it seems that there's yet another plot twist in Musk's checkmark policy. As Rolling Stone reports, Twitter has returned the blue checkmark for many accounts with over one million followers, including Lord of the Rings and X-Men actor Ian McKellen. And while some may assume that McKellen paid for the badge, he was quick to assure his followers that he did not.

Despite the implication when you click the blue badge that has mysteriously re-appeared beside my name, I am not paying for the "honour".

— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) April 23, 2023
But that's not all. The drama continued when Twitter added posthumous blue checks to the profiles of deceased celebrities like Kobe Bryant, Norm Macdonald, Anthony Bourdain, Chadwick Boseman, and Michael Jackson. This move came as the platform began to purge legacy verifications and pivot towards only displaying the checks on profiles who pay for the subscription service, Twitter Blue.

It's not just the verification system that's been causing a stir, though. Twitter recently labeled the accounts of media outlets like NPR, the BBC, and PBS as "state-affiliated" or "government-funded." However, those labels have since been removed from the accounts that had them. According to NPR.com, this decision was made after a suggestion by famed journalist and biographer of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson, who is reportedly working on a similar biography of Musk.

It was reported that the removal of the legacy blue ticks was a manual process, so it is conceivable that this will also be a manual process that will continue over the next few days. Former employees have claimed that the process draws on a large internal database similar to an Excel spreadsheet that has a history of breaking.

As the drama surrounding Twitter's verification system continues to unfold, one thing's for sure that Elon Musk is keeping us on our toes.