The user who invented the hashtag has reportedly left Twitter, saying the company 'deserved more dignity and consideration than it's received in the last six months'

• The man who suggested Twitter use hashtags has left the platform.
• Chris Messina reportedly said the company "deserved more dignity and consideration than it's received in the last six months."
• The platform has been through a period of upheaval since Elon Musk bought it in October.

The man responsible for Twitter's use of hashtags to group tweets has left the platform, saying it's been mismanaged under Elon Musk's ownership.

Chris Messina, who in 2007 suggested Twitter start using hashtags to organize tweets by topic or event, said goodbye to the site this weekend after losing his verification badge. Twitter said it would start removing legacy blue check marks this month, and users who wished to keep theirs would need to start paying $8 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription.

"My choice isn't about the badge; it's about everything that lead up to the badge and how it has been handled. Whatever Twitter was before deserved more dignity and consideration than it's received in the last six months," Messina tweeted, per The Verge. His account is now private.

Since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, the company has seen 80% of its staff laid off, its valuation drop to less than half its acquisition price, several outages affecting thousands of users, and an exodus of advertisers.

As for the hashtags, Musk isn't a fan. In a tweet last month, he said, "I hate hashtags."

Messina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.