“Bills they will receive [the label] include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures,” Crawford tweeted. “Not all previously verified accounts will receive the ‘Official’ tag and the tag is not available for purchase.” Crawford also confirmed that the revamped Twitter Blue subscription product, which will allow paid users to verify their accounts with a blue checkmark, will not authenticate users with IDs or hardware. The announcement is the latest twist as Twitter clarifies its plans for verification on the platform under new owner Elon Musk. On Nov. 1, Musk said Twitter would be handing out blue checkmarks — designed to help identify authentic and influential users — to subscribers of the platform’s premium service, Blue. “Twitter’s current lords and peasants system of who has or doesn’t have a blue tick is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/mo,” Musk wrote. Over the weekend, the revamped premium service briefly appeared to have launched, with the social media company saying in an update for Apple iOS devices on Saturday that all users who “subscribe now” to the premium “Twitter Blue” service will receive a blue tick . Other features promised as part of the overhaul of the premium service include half the number of ads, the ability to post longer videos and priority ranking for content published on the platform. The next day, however, the New York Times reported that the company had delayed rolling out the new verification process until after the US midterm elections, amid fears that fake “verified” accounts could pose as political or news organizations. Fake accounts for government officials are a recurring issue for Twitter worldwide. The announcement of the new “official” label comes after an internal push from the company’s policy executives, who had strong concerns that government officials around the world were unlikely and unwilling to pay for verified inspection marks, a source with knowledge of the subject. the Reuters news service. The changes to the Blue program are just one of many moving parts as Musk moves to take control of the platform’s operations. After laying off half its global workforce last week, there were reports that Twitter had asked “dozens” of people to return to work. Twitter did not respond to a request for further comment.
