Twitter will not be moving forward with an "Official" label that would be used to identify companies, major media outlets, public figures, and others who are in danger of being impersonated on the social network, Twitter CEO Elon Musk said today.
Just hours after Twitter began rolling out the "Official" checkmark that was provided to some accounts alongside the standard white and blue verification badge, Musk said that he has "killed" the feature.
"Blue check will be the great leveler," Musk added in another tweet. The white checkmark on a blue background was traditionally provided to higher-profile accounts that went through a verification process, but with Musk's takeover of Twitter, the badge will be provided to all Twitter Blue subscribers who pay $7.99 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription.
Blue check will be the great leveler — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022
When the checkmark becomes available to any Twitter subscriber who pays, there will no longer be any kind of identity verification system on Twitter, which some users have expressed concerns about.
Twitter product executive Esther Crawford explained the two-badge system just yesterday, explaining that Twitter would add an "Official" label to select accounts. Government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and some public figures were going to be provided with the now-defunct "Official" label.
It is not clear if Twitter will implement some other method for differentiating between account types and providing identity verification, but it sounds like Musk will not allow such a feature. Musk has said that any Twitter handles "engaging in impersonation" without a clear parody label would be "permanently suspended," a move he enacted after verified users began changing their names to Elon Musk.
Update: Crawford now claims that the official label is still going out as part of the launch of Twitter Blue, but Twitter is focusing on "government and commercial entities to begin with. She says that what Musk meant is that Twitter is not focusing on giving the "Official" label to individuals. As of right now, though, the official labels that were provided to some accounts earlier today have been removed and have not been reinstated as of yet. There is no word on when the labels will return, nor if this is indeed what Musk meant.
The official label is still going out as part of the @TwitterBlue launch -- we are just focusing on government and commercial entities to begin with. What you saw him mention was the fact that we're not focusing on giving individuals the "Official" label right now. — Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 9, 2022
