The Twitter chaos continues under Elon Musk’s control, with the social network launching and pulling grey ‘official’ verification check marks, amid the launch of a new subscription that places the traditional blue ticks behind a paywall.
You may have noticed a grey tick appear beneath some accounts (of Twitter’s choosing) on Wednesday morning as Musk mulled ways to ensure official accounts can be identified, while monetising the blue tick.
The company has been working on integrating the traditional blue verification check mark as part of a revamped $8 a month Twitter Blue subscription plan, which has now partially launched on iPhone.
Several high-profile media organisations, as well as celebrities and politicians had the grey ‘official’ motif beneath their username, along with the blue check mark, in a clunky double check. However, no-sooner had the ‘official’ designation arrived, than Musk had “killed it” with the company itself clarifying that will still be used for “government and commercial entities”.
After pulling the grey ‘official’ marks, Twitter officially launched the new version of Twitter Blue within the iPhone and iPad apps. Now, anyone using those apps can sign-up for Twitter Blue for $7.99 a month. With that comes the sought after blue verified badges. It isn’t available for Android users, or on the web at the moment, with Twitter saying it’s only possible to subscribe on iOS at this time.
Inside the iOS app, Twitter promotes the service by promising “All Blue subscribers get a verified account and a blue checkmark.” The revamped offering also promises subscribers they will ‘rocket to the top of replies, mentions and search’, see half the ads, be able to post longer videos, and get new features first.
There is a warning that the $7.99 a month is only a limited time offer, meaning it’s probably going to go up in the future. Will you pay for Twitter Blue?
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.