Billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform Twitter will introduce an “Official” label for select verified accounts including major media outlets and governments when it launches its new $8 premium subscription product, its early stage products executive Esther Crawford said on Tuesday.
Crawford also confirmed that the revamped Twitter Blue subscription product, which will allow paid users to carry blue check marks on their accounts, will not actually verify users’ identities.
The lack of ID verification is likely to raise concerns about the possibility of people impersonating public figures.
Already, such concerns have caused Twitter to hold off on launching the new version of Twitter Blue until after the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, said in a tweet Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity.
Not all Twitter accounts that were previously verified with a blue check mark will get the “Official” label and the label is not available for purchase, Crawford said.
Accounts that will receive the official label include governments, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and some other public figures, she said on Twitter.
The introduction of a new label alongside the existing check marks “creates a confusing system” where some, but not all, previously verified accounts will be deemed official, said Jason Goldman, a former Twitter board member who served as head of product in its early years.
Twitter did not respond to a request for further comment.
Crawford added on Tuesday that Twitter will “continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.”
By Sheila Dang and Fanny Potkin
