Twitter plans to label select accounts “Official” when the new Blue launches; not all previously verified accounts will get the label, which won't be for sale
Twitter is rolling out another type of check mark to help distinguish accounts that users actually need to know are real.
The VergeJay Peters
Context & Ripple Effects
Twitter is separating a paid Blue check from an “Official” designation for selected accounts, leaving some previously verified accounts outside the new label. The distinction became operationally important when Twitter later restored the gray badge after purchased blue checks fueled impersonation of high-profile accounts.
The company subsequently extended the badge to brands and news outlets amid impersonation and hoaxes, while its Blue for Business pilot proposed badges for companies and key employees. Together, the coverage shows Twitter trying to rebuild account-authenticity signals around a paid subscription product.
First-order effects
Selected institutions and notable accounts receive an identity signal that Twitter says cannot be bought, while Blue subscribers receive a separate paid verification marker.
Previously verified accounts that are not selected lose the assumption that a checkmark alone denotes Twitter-assessed authenticity.
Second-order effects
Brands, outlets, and public figures face stronger pressure to secure Twitter-recognized organizational identity as Blue checks become purchasable and easier to confuse with official status.
Twitter’s later advertiser rule tying ad access to a checkmark or paid verification shows how account-status products can become commercial gatekeepers, not just trust labels.
Third-order effects
Platform verification is shifting from one universal badge toward a tiered identity system that separates paid subscription status from institution-level authenticity.
If Twitter continues attaching product access to verification, identity labels may evolve into a control layer for advertising and organizational participation rather than a standalone trust feature.
The trend: Social platforms are unbundling verification into paid features and restricted authenticity credentials as monetized badges weaken the meaning of a single checkmark.
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. https://twitter.com/...
@TwitterBlue Not all previously verified accounts will get the “Official” label and the label is not available for purchase. Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures…
In a note to staff today, Bloomberg EIC John Micklethwait said that recent changes at Twitter have “heightened the risk of using the platform as a source of news.” He also said the company would not allow staff to expense a Twitter Blue account.
The new Twitter Blue does not include ID verification - it's an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a blue checkmark and access to select features. We'll continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.
When you decide to sell user verification checkmark to everyone for no reason, but then realize you still need a way to verify users, so you introduce a new verification checkmark which you have to visit their profile to see https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
I'm not saying Mark Zuckerberg is a better person, but if you changed your name on Facebook to “Italian Mark Zuckerberg” and posted “I send a the calzone into the metaverse! Ohhhh!” he would never see it, and even if he did, he would not care, and would not do anything about it.
In other words, a near-perfect replication of the existing verification scheme, under a different name. So much for power to the people https://twitter.com/...
So the blue check is becoming a “paid user” badge while the old notion of being verified becomes a gray check? I really don't understand working nights and weekends to charge $3 extra dollars for a paid user badge from $5 for tweet editing in Twitter Blue. Who asked for this? htt…
Not sure why Twitter is stopping at two check marks. Go all in and make an entire rainbow of tiers then commit to the cash grab. There should be a $10,000 gold checkmark just like the gold Apple Watch. Make it the new ape profile pic. Go wild!