>>evan_+(OP)
Yes so everyone rushed to buy the blue checkmark because that used to be for verified accounts. Then everyone lost all faith in the blue checkmark, so now they charge $1000 for authenticated accounts.
It's a massive bait and switch. The $8/month one is worthless.
If they wanted to retain a greater share of the value they were creating through authenticating big accounts they could just have charged $1000/month for the blue checkmark.