Twitter exec says there will soon be three types of accounts: official, paid, and unlabeled

Twitter merchandise exec Esther Crawford revealed details astir the mode the societal network's caller verification strategy volition enactment connected Tuesday, pursuing the company's acquisition by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk successful precocious October.

Some primitively verified accounts volition soon athletics an "official" label, she said, portion immoderate idiosyncratic who pays $7.99 per period for Twitter Blue, the company's subscription product, volition athletics a bluish checkmark. She did not specify what it volition instrumentality to summation an "official" badge oregon label.

Musk, who is presently serving arsenic Twitter's CEO and sole director, has criticized Twitter's archetypal verification system, which gives a bluish checkmark, oregon verification, to notable users likely to beryllium impersonated by atrocious actors.

Blue checks primitively went to verify the individuality of authorities officials, politicians, celebrities, immoderate journalists, executives, aesculapian professionals, and organizations whose individuality the institution had verified. Musk himself has benefitted from having the Twitter verification checkmark. So person myriad journalists, including astatine CNBC.

Historically, the bluish checkmark fto different Twitter users cognize that an relationship connected the societal network, and its contents, were coming from the idiosyncratic oregon enactment shown connected that Twitter profile. At slightest immoderate users whose accounts sported the verification checkmark had to supply Twitter with idiosyncratic info specified arsenic leader information, a telephone number, oregon a transcript of their driver's licence for individuality verification.

Other societal networks, like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, person akin verification systems.

Under Musk's direction, the caller Twitter Blue checkmark volition alternatively enactment arsenic a paying subscriber badge that the institution nevertheless plans to telephone "verification." The subscription work has go a large absorption for Musk, who wants the level to go little reliant connected advertisers and make much gross from subscriptions.

Crawford specified connected Tuesday that subscribing to Twitter Blue and gaining the checkmark from the institution volition nary longer necessitate individuality verification, writing:

"A batch of folks person asked astir however you'll beryllium capable to separate between @TwitterBlue subscribers with bluish checkmarks and accounts that are verified arsenic official, which is wherefore we're introducing the 'Official' statement to prime accounts erstwhile we launch."

"The caller Twitter Blue does not see ID verification – it's an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a bluish checkmark and entree to prime features. We'll proceed to experimentation with ways to differentiate betwixt relationship types."

"Not each antecedently verified accounts volition get the 'Official' statement and the statement is not disposable for purchase. Accounts that volition person it see authorities accounts, commercialized companies, concern partners, large media outlets, publishers and immoderate nationalist figures."

Crawford, Director of Product Management astatine Twitter, joined the societal web erstwhile it acquired her startup, Squad, successful Dec. 2020. Since Musk took over, she has go the merchandise person for Twitter Blue. The squad experienced a important workforce simplification past week, which impacted its quality to vessel a redesigned verification strategy by the Nov. 7 day Musk primitively acceptable arsenic a sprint goal. Crawford's squad is trying to prosecute backmost immoderate of the employees who received termination notices.

Musk's plans for the caller "verification" strategy person drawn wide criticism.

Comedians, influencers and actors including Valerie Bertinelli, Kathy Griffin, Ethan Klein, Sarah Silverman and Rich Sommer and each appeared to alteration their Twitter show names connected their verified profiles to "Elon Musk" without indicating that they were parodying his account.

A technologist and USC Annenberg Civic Media Fellow, Sydette Harry, told CNBC up of the caller Twitter Blue motorboat that Twitter had problems thwarting harassment, hatred speech, misinformation and impersonation agelong earlier Musk took over. The institution has ne'er managed to support Black and different number users effectively, particularly those who were not celebrities oregon nationalist figures with a bluish check.

She added, of the caller verification system, "This caller method is going to beryllium theatrically bad, due to the fact that erstwhile radical wage for verification it takes the contented from a assemblage moderation problem, which tin beryllium expected connected a escaped oregon ad-supported service, to a lawsuit work problem."

She besides said that she's acrophobic Musk seems focused connected U.S. users, contempt the service's ample planetary lawsuit base.