Elon Musk kills Twitter’s new “Official” gray verification badge, hours after release

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has “just killed” the social network’s new secondary “Official” verification badge, just hours after the new badge started to roll out to select high-profile accounts.

Responding to YouTuber Marques Brownlee, who shared a picture of his two separate verification badges, Musk replied saying “I just killed it,” referring to the new “Official” verification badge, adding that the “blue check will be the great leveller.”

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.

I just killed it

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022

When blue badge verification becomes pay-to-play and any user is able to show a verification checkmark next to their name, without passing any verification screening, the secondary “Official” verification badge was supposed to act as a way of the social network confirming than account was authentic, just like the original verification checkmark did prior to Musk’s plan to change it.

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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