Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is facing mockery for her criticism of a new plan for Twitter’s subscription service.
The Congresswoman voiced her disapproval of the idea Twitter users paying for a monthly fee for added features.
“Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan,” she wrote Tuesday night.
Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that “free speech” is actually a $8/mo subscription plan
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 2, 2022
Her tweet comes after Twitter owner Elon Musk shared his plan to raise the cost of the platform’s subscription service Twitter Blue to $8 per month.
The Verge reported that Musk wants to change the subscription to add more features, including conferring the verified status to subscribers.
According to Twitter, verified status is meant to let “people know that an account of public interest is authentic.” And currently, the process to apply for verification is free as long as a user meets the requirements of being “authentic, notable, and active.”
People would still be about to use Twitter if they did not pay for the subscription plan, but they would not enjoy as many features.
And several conservatives roasted Ocasio-Cortez for her comments about the plan.
“Twitter is still going to be free you moron,” conservative Arthur Schwartz wrote.
https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1587752007078748162
Batya Ungar-Sargon, the deputy opinion editor at Newsweek, tweeted, “This is such a great example of the progressive MO: Take something that confers status and privilege on an elite few and then treat it like it’s a universal principle that may never be questioned.”
This is such a great example of the progressive MO: Take something that confers status and privilege on an elite few and then treat it like it's a universal principle that may never be questioned. https://t.co/Hld7THfQO9
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) November 2, 2022
“‘Free speech’ does not mean that services must be free of charge. You use your phone for free speech but you also pay for the phone plan,” chimed in conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.
"Free speech" does not mean that services must be free of charge. You use your phone for free speech but you also pay for the phone plan. https://t.co/bMyoqC5SsK
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 2, 2022
Conservative columnist Derek Hunter tweeted, “The ‘free’ part isn’t about money, idiot.”
The "free" part isn't about money, idiot. https://t.co/bDOzVdQ6x9
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) November 2, 2022
Jeremy Redfern, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) deputy press secretary, wrote, “AOC should just build her own platform.”
AOC should just build her own platform. https://t.co/0NBX0yBgFf
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) November 2, 2022
Earlier this week, author Stephen King blasted the idea of paying his verification status as he wrote, “$20 a month to keep my blue check? F**k that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Musk defended the plan as he wrote, “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
