I've been 'Jesus Christ' on Twitter for 14 years — and thanks to Elon Musk, I'm now verified
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, Twitter
- When Elon Musk took over Twitter, he let Twitter Blue subscribers get "verified" for $8 per month.
- The Twitter Blue check marks don't require ID verification, letting users like @Jesus get them.
- We asked the account owner what it's like to be "Jesus" — and what it's like to be verified now.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a Twitter user who has the handle "@Jesus," which got a blue check mark under Twitter Blue's suspended $8 "verification" program that doesn't require ID verification. The source requested to be anonymous for privacy reasons, but Insider has verified their possession of the account discussed. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
On Twitter, I'm Jesus. In real life, I'm not.
I started the Twitter account with the handle "@Jesus" back in 2006. I just thought it would be funny to post tweets around the holidays like Christmas and Easter. It's satirical. I post things like "Don't call it a comeback" right after Easter to joke about Jesus rising again.
I'm not religious myself. I just want to bring some joy and laughter to the Twitter universe.
I've had the 'Jesus' Twitter account for 14 years
Even though I've had it that long, I wasn't ever sure I'd be able to get it verified. I've applied for verification before and been rejected, but when Elon Musk changed the verification rules and you could subscribe to Twitter Blue and buy a verified check, I knew it was finally my time. It was immediate. I bought the Twitter Blue subscription, and when I finished confirming Apple Pay and reopened Twitter, I was verified.
In a way, I verified the Jesus account to show how absurd the new system of verification is. It's like, obviously, I'm not Jesus. He doesn't have a Twitter account, so why am I able to be verified? It doesn't make sense.
Being Jesus on Twitter is kind of strange
People send me prayer requests. I think that they realize I'm not actually Jesus, but it's still soothing for them to send the request into the world anyway.
The requests come from all around the world and in different languages. Sometimes, I'll send a message back that's encouraging or something, but I'm very aware of the fact that I'm not a trained psychologist and don't have the professional credentials to be able to handle this kind of thing.
I am very aware of how powerless I am when people are sending me prayer requests. There's really nothing I can do. It's strange to watch people ask me to help them with things I'm so incapable of assisting with.
People ask what my plan is with the account, but there's not really one
I don't know what I'm going to do with the account. I wish I could say I had a master plan, but honestly, I'm just rolling with it. After 14 years, I feel like I've kind of run through all the Jesus jokes, like going silent for three days during Easter then popping up on Sunday and being like "Hi, I'm back!" or joking about what Jesus wears to his birthday party.
I also send encouraging tweets sometimes, like this one that simply said: "I know you are sad. I know you are hurting. I am with you always." Once, I even got political and tweeted: "Ban all guns. full stop."
I usually keep my personal beliefs away from the Jesus account, but I had to tweet that. There's such a problem with gun control in the U.S., and if I tweeted that from a personal account, basically no one would see it. But Jesus has more than 791,000 followers, and there, people will actually hear it.
One of the reasons I stay anonymous is because I get death threats
I don't think the account is blasphemy, because it's pretty obvious to me that I'm not actually impersonating Jesus. I do get messages from people telling me I'm blasphemous and going to hell, and that they're going to find out who I am and kill me.
But I want people to know that I'm just trying to joke around and have fun. This isn't Banksy-level performance art. I'm not making big statements about anything (except how easy it now is to get verified on Twitter).
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