Twitter’s owner announced that users will have to pay $8 per month to receive a blue verification check mark, effectively nullifying the feature’s meaning. Now, social media platforms are adding a second gray check mark for all accounts that have been verified as credible and representing an actual person or organization.
At the time of writing, media outlets such as The New York Times and The Verge have the gray check mark, whereas Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner and current CEO, does not.
Esther Crawford, Twitter’s current VP and head of the Blue subscription project, confirmed in a tweet that the “Official” label will be used to differentiate between subscribers and actual verified accounts. All accounts with the Blue check prior to today will not automatically receive the new label, she added in a subsequent tweet, and the Official label is not for sale.
According to the VP, “accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures”. The company will keep experimenting with ways to differentiate account types, meaning this solution is likely not final.
Categories: News