Twitter revealed details on how its new verification program will work on Tuesday, with some formerly verified accounts getting an “official” label, while users who pay the $7.99 monthly fee for Twitter Blue will get a blue that’s not tied to an authentication check mark.
“Many people have asked how you will distinguish between @TwitterBlue users with blue checkmarks and officially verified accounts, which is why we’re introducing the ‘official’ tag for select accounts at launch,” Twitter product chief Esther Crawford said in a tweet.” Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘official’ label, and the label is not available for purchase. Accounts that will receive the label include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.”
Crawford shared a screenshot of the “official” hashtag on the @Twitter account’s profile page and went on to say that the new Twitter Blue is an opt-in paid subscription that does not include ID verification.” She added, “We will continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.
Traditionally, the blue check mark lets other Twitter users know that accounts with the badge have provided verification details to Twitter, such as employer information, phone numbers or a copy of their driver’s license.
Under new owner Elon Musk’s plan, the new Twitter blue check mark will simply indicate that an account is a paying user. However, why the company still plans to continue calling it “verified” is unclear. Twitter Blue will reportedly launch on Wednesday, Nov. 9, after a delayed launch until after the U.S. midterm elections.
The new subscription service has been widely criticized over the past few weeks, with Elon Musk promising it will reduce spam and impersonation on the platform. Elon Musk himself has been the victim of several comedians and influencers impersonating him, changing their Twitter display names to “Elon Elon Musk” without specifying that they were impersonating his account. Some of the users’ accounts were locked until they changed their names back.
Elon Musk later said on Twitter, “Going forward, any Twitter account that engages in impersonation without explicitly stating ‘parody’ will be permanently deactivated.” He added that there would be no warning before deactivation and that any name change would result in people losing their original blue check mark.
