New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s account on X (formerly Twitter) no longer carries a blue tick, with users on the platform asking why.
Many users noticed the change and put the question to X’s AI chatbot Grok, asking whether Mamdani had stopped paying for X Premium or whether X owner Elon Musk had removed the tick personally.
Grok confirmed that the tick is currently gone from Mamdani’s account. It said X can remove a tick without notice if a subscription ends, if the account changes its profile, or if it breaks the platform’s terms. Grok added that there was no public evidence that Musk removed the tick himself, and that X does not disclose its reasons for removals. It also noted that the official @NYCMayor account is separate.
Under X’s policy, the blue tick does not mean an account is verified. It shows that the account has an active Premium subscription and meets X’s eligibility rules. Only accounts on the Premium or Premium+ tiers can get one.
To qualify, an account needs a display name, a profile photo and a confirmed phone number, and it must have been active in the past 30 days. X also requires that the account shows no signs of deception, spam or platform manipulation.
A change to the profile photo, display name or username removes the tick temporarily until X reviews the account. X also reserves the right to remove a tick at any time without notice, including from accounts that break its rules.
X began winding down its old verification program, which covered accounts judged active, notable and authentic, on April 1, 2023. It removed the old ticks on April 20, 2023, and accounts kept a tick after that only if they subscribed to Premium.
