It is unclear how many users Twitter has verified in this way. On Friday, Musk claimed that he was personally paying the Twitter Blue subscription for a few celebrities, including LeBron James and Stephen King. In addition, Twitter has reverified the accounts of deceased celebrities, including Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, and Anthony Bourdain, who died long before Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Clicking on the blue checks associated with these accounts shows the message, “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”
