Twitter Confirms Two Types Of ‘Verified’ Checks—One Of Which Money Can’t Buy
The last couple of weeks has been riddled with much confusion for the social media platform as it adjusts to significant changes, namely Elon Musk taking control of the company. One of the most significant topics of conversation was the future of the blue verification tick. After Musk’s controversial announcement, many wondered what would happen to it and if it would disappear behind a paywall.
Twitter has finally confirmed that its new verification system will subsequently be twofold with the introduction of its new “Official” label.
This will be an unpaid form of identification to verified accounts and appear as a little badge above the user’s bio. The announcement was made by Esther Crawford, Twitter’s VP, who is leading the new Twitter Blue subscription.
A lot of folks have asked about how you'll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the “Official" label to select accounts when we launch. pic.twitter.com/0p2Ae5nWpO
— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 8, 2022
This new label will be given to government officials, companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and other public figures. However, it was not mentioned how Twitter would discern who would get the badge.
According to Reuters, the creation of the Official label came from an internal push that cited the likely possibility of troll accounts buying the blue tick, posing as important figures and government officials, and spreading misinformation. Twitter has paused the rollout of Twitter Blue till after the midterm elections for this exact reason.
It was also noted that this is in aid of government officials who are unlikely or unwilling to pay for the check marks.
Yoel Roth, the company’s head of integrity, posits that this new method would give Twitter the power to determine who is noteworthy and who isn’t. However, this could bring much criticism as many may have differing views on the platform’s decision.
For years, Verification on Twitter has been tricky because it’s a signal both of authenticity (you are who you say you are) and notability (you’re “important” by some standard).
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) November 8, 2022
Notability is inherently difficult to determine in a fair way globally. I support getting rid of it.
The Official label is set to roll out in the next few days, after which the Twittersphere can better judge its effectiveness.
[via Reuters and Engadget, screenshot via Twitter]
