Twitter announced on Tuesday that is was working on a new secondary “Official” verification badge to represent genuinely verified accounts, ahead of plans to give any paying user the original blue verification checkmark badge without any type of ID verification as part the service’s paid Twitter Blue subscription service.
Less than 24 hours after the announcement was made by Esther Crawford, a product manager at network, Twitter has now started to roll out the gray verification badge to select high-profile accounts, beginning with large brands including Apple.
Beginning soon, Twitter will change the fundamentals of its existing verification system by selling the iconic blue verification checkmark that previously was given to select accounts that had been vetted and deemed as being genuine and authentic by Twitter, and instead giving any paying user who subscribes to Twitter Blue with the checkmark, without any type of ID check, meaning that the original blue badge will no longer be a way to tell if an account is authentic.
The move to sell blue badges has been heavily criticized by government officials, companies, brands, and influential individuals who see the decision by Twitter CEO Elon Musk to sell verification as irresponsible, putting many high-profile Twitter users now at risk of impersonation and the spread of misinformation.
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