Following the failure of the first launch of Twitter’s “power to the people” verification system, Elon Musk announced that the social network will trial a new multicolored verification system next week.
According to Twitter’s owner, companies will receive a gold checkmark, government officials will receive a grey checkmark — likely similar to the “official” checkmark it is currently testing with some prominent accounts — and the blue checkmark will be dedicated to individuals who are not celebrities. That means they will use the blue check mark with legacy verified accounts and those who purchase Twitter’s new $8 per month paid plan.
Musk also stated that the company intends to manually authenticate all verifications before implementing the new verification system. It’s unclear what he means, given that Twitter Blue subscribers will receive a blue checkmark. Twitter’s reduced workforce will be under pressure to manually check every verification to avoid impersonation or spam.
Musk said that people can have a second tiny logo to show if they are a part of a specific organization. That organization must also confirm that the individual represents them or works for them in some capacity. He added that the decision to apply the blue checkmark to they made all individual accounts because a person’s notability is a subjective matter.
Musk paused the revamped Twitter Blue program earlier this month, saying it would resume on November 29. This week, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk put the plan on hold until “there is a high level of stopping impersonation.” Notably, he mentioned using multiple colors for verification for the first time.
He did not say whether something would implement concurrently the new verification scheme with the relaunch of Twitter Blue. At the moment, it’s likely that this verification relaunch is only for existing verified accounts, companies, and government officials — not paid subscribers.
When Twitter Blue was finally relaunched, it took another step toward reducing spam and fake accounts. The company changed its terms last week, requiring newly created accounts to wait 90 days from account creation before purchasing a Twitter Blue subscription.
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On November 9, when Musk’s Twitter launched the new verification program, many accounts began impersonating brands, athletes, and celebrities. As a result, Twitter halted the project immediately. He is now taking every precaution to avoid such chaos in the future.
Musk announced earlier today that, based on the results of a poll he conducted a few days ago, Twitter will offer “general amnesty” to all suspended accounts beginning next week.
