The Blue Checks $8 War is heating up.
Elon Musk lashed out at Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo in a tweet Saturday after Ruffalo backed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s claim that paying for Twitter does not promote freedom of expression.
Ruffalo joins other celebrities who have refused to pay the coveted brand’s monthly fee. Musk and Ruffalo have traded barbs before, but this time AOC was in the middle.
“Lmao at a billionaire who’s seriously trying to sell people the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually an $8/month subscription plan,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote Wednesday.
Musk replied, “Your feedback is appreciated, now you’re paying $8.”
AOC accused Musk of suspending her account the next day.
Ruffalo joined the fight by retweeting AOC and writing: “Elon. Please, for the sake of decency, leave Twitter, give the keys to someone who is doing this as a real job, and get on with Tesla and SpaceX.”
Ruffalo added: “You’re destroying your credibility. It just doesn’t look good.”
Musk held back on Saturday. “Hot Take: Not everything AOC says is correct.”
Ruffalo answered. “Maybe so. This is why robust dis/misinformation filters and credible verified users are a popular feature for people and advertisers alike. We need these safeguards to ensure the information is accurate or the app loses credibility , just like you. And people are leaving.”
Musk has claimed that without changes, Twitter could lose hundreds of millions of dollars. The blue check subscription model is part of its plan to reduce overhead. That included a layoff of an estimated 3,700 employees worldwide late last week.