Elon Musk pays for Stephen King and LeBron James to keep Twitter blue ticks

Writer and basketball star are among famous names to retain ticks despite not signing up to Twitter Blue

Elon Musk has admitted he is paying for some prominent Twitter accounts to retain their blue ticks, as the social media platform launched a cull that stripped verified status from many famous names including Beyonce, Ronaldo and Paul McCartney.

Twitter's owner confirmed the gesture after it emerged that the writer Stephen King, the actor William Shatner and the basketball star LeBron James had retained their ticks - which confer verified status on accounts - despite not signing up to Twitter Blue, the site's subscription service.