For the moment, the spokespersons of the social network have remained very discreet about the conditions for awarding this label.
After the introduction of the blue badge which has set the Internet on fire and blood for a few days, the new Twitter version of Elon Musk continues to change. In response to criticism from Internet users, who regretted the loss of visibility of the official accounts of certain personalities and institutions, the firm with the blue bird presented a new badge.
As a reminder, before the takeover by the big boss of Tesla and SpaceX, the famous blue tick was awarded after an identity verification process. It was therefore a mark of legitimacy which made it possible in particular to distinguish a celebrity or an institution from a possible impostor.
But since the arrival of Elon Musk, its meaning has changed dramatically. Anyone can now view it on this account through a premium subscription that costs $8 per month. Many users therefore demanded the introduction of a new distinct mention, the firm chose to do so with an “Official” badge.
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. pic.twitter.com/0p2Ae5nWpO
— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 8, 2022
Who can benefit from it?
Esther Crawford, head of product development at Twitter, shed some light on a new “Official” label, not available for purchase. She explained that it would be restricted to “government accounts, corporations, business partners, major media outlets, publicists and other public figures”.
A deliberately vague formulation that left a lot of room for interpretation; many users polled the Twitter employee hoping to find out how the attribution process would go. Without success.
Cool, but who determines which public figures get that “Official” designation? Is it based on followers or previous achievements? I’ve been Verified on this platform for 10 years and I have had a ton of impersonator accounts along the way so it’d be awesome to find out more info.
—Stephen Ford (@StephenSeanFord) November 8, 2022
Internet users therefore began to speculate, because some are already paying the price for this for-profit artistic blurring. Many users complain of having lost a certification that they sometimes enjoyed for years without a valid reason, and of having been relegated to the same level of visibility as any other paying user at the same time.
We could expect the firm to provide details fairly quickly… but the new troublemaker in chief of the social network has pulled the rug out from under everyone. In response to a tweet from videographer MKBHD, one of the most identifiable figures in the tech ecosystem, he announced very soberly that he had just nipped this feature in the bud.
I just killed it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022
Further proof that this new formula is not yet perfected, and that we can expect new significant changes to the system in the near future…