Twitter Is Adding an "Official" Non-Paid Grey Verification Badge
By Haider Ali Khan
November 9, 2022
Twitter has announced that it will be adding an "official" non-paid grey verification checkmark alongside the $8/month blue checkmark that anyone can get with Twitter Blue.
Twitter's Esther Crawford shared that the "official" label will be launching soon, alongside the paid blue checkmark that used to indicate an account was official or of public interest.
It appears that not every verified account with a blue checkmark will automatically receive the "official" label. It seems as though this new label provides the same clarity as the blue checkmark, but eventually becomes a paid feature available to everyone.
The new "official" label from Twitter will be given to accounts including but not limited to "government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and some public figures."
If an account is not seen as "official" by Twitter standards, the user still has the option of paying $8/month to subscribe to Twitter Blue. This subscription allows access to a "blue checkmark and select features," without having one's ID verified.
In order to avoid any potential confusion during the U.S.' midterm elections, Twitter Blue and the "official" label are set to launch no earlier than November 9.
A few days after Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter was completed, reports surfaced that the company planned to charge $20 per month for verification. In response, Musk took to Twitter to defend the fee before confirming that it would ultimately be set at $8 per month.
"Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit," Musk wrote. "Power to the people! Blue for $8/month."
With Twitter Blue, subscribers get priority in replies and mentions, the ability to post audio and video up to twice as long, and half as many ads.