Did Elon Musk take off LeBron James' verified check on Twitter? Taking a closer look

To say Elon Musk has been erratic with Twitter/X since he purchased the company for $44 billion would be an understatement. Musk took away the glorified blue checks from some and sold others to whoever could shell out the cash.

LeBron James is one of the most followed celebrities in the world and has 52.8 million followers on X/Twitter alone. He has long been a verified account on the platform and is one of the most famous people in the world.

Now James has lost his blue check. There is no reported reason as to why, if the order came straight from Elon Musk, or if LeBron James tweeted something that led to this.

James is not known for tweeting controversial things. He often praises other athletes, hypes up his peers and uses his account to show his love for all sports.

He rarely uses the platform to spew any political opinions. James notably sat out the Hong Kong, China and NBA conversation when Sixers GM Daryl Morey caused controversy by tweeting out support for Hong Kong.

James’ most recent tweets were in admiration for his Spring Hill company and he also gave recent shoutouts to his young teammate Rui Hachimura. Hachimura went off for 36 points in the final game before the All-Star break. The Lakers beat the Jazz 138-122 with LeBron James resting.

Is Elon Musk taking payments for blue check marks?

LeBron James' blue check is not the latest verified mark controversy for Elon Musk and X. Recent reports suggest Musk is taking payments for blue check marks.

According to the BBC and New York Times, a recent report said X received payments to give blue check marks to accounts related to members of terrorist organizations. It was also sold to people who faced US sanctions.

The Tech Transparency Project revealed accounts tied to Hezbollah and other groups were given verified check marks on the social media platform $8 a month. The verified marks allow posts to stay on the algorithm timeline longer and gives them larger promotion.

After the report was released X removed some of those verified check marks. The report said Twitter's security responded to the report and removed the accounts that were named as related to terrorism.

Elon Musk began charging users to be verified in 2022. The move allowed anyone to pose as a verified account to deliver misinformation. Before Musk purchased X, the blue check marks were free. They were assigned to corporations, celebrities and journalist accounts. Politicians and world leaders were also given the verified mark.