(Update 11/9/22) – Elon Musk has seemingly already “killed” the “official” non-paid grey verification checkmark and has now said, “Blue check will be the great leveler.”
There is no word as if it will return in the same or different form, but Musk did say, “Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.”
The original story follows.
Twitter has confirmed it is now adding an “official” non-paid grey verification checkmark alongside the $8/month blue checkmark that anyone can soon get with Twitter Blue.
The news was shared by Twitter’s Esther Crawford, who confirmed this “official” label will launch alongside the paid blue checkmark that used to indicate an account was official or of public interest.
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
However, it appears not all accounts that are currently verified with a blue checkmark will get the “official” label. Furthermore, this new label appears to accomplish what the blue checkmark currently does before it soon becomes a paid feature everyone can get.
Accounts that will receive this new “official” label include “government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and some public figures.” Those that aren’t deemed “official” by Twitter will still be able to pay $8/month to subscribe to Twitter Blue without ID verification to gain a “blue checkmark and access to select features.”
Twitter Blue and the “official” label are set to launch on or after November 9 as it didn’t want to cause any confusion during the U.S.’ midterm elections.
Following Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to takeover Twitter was completed, reports came out that the company was set to charge $20/month for verification. Musk took to Twitter to defend the fee, then confirmed it would end up being $8/month.
“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit,” Musk wrote. “Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”
Those who subscribe to Twitter Blue for the blue checkmark will also get priority in replies, mentions, and search, the ability to poster longer audio and video, and half as many ads.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.