Status: 09.11.2022 11:12 a.m
Twitter plans to soon mark certain profiles as “official”: with a gray tick on a white background. The blue tick doll is reserved for subscription customers. Whether the new model will bring in more money is questionable.
The US short message service Twitter wants to introduce two different types of verification symbols: one for subscription customers and one for already verified accounts of celebrities and companies.
According to the plans, the well-known white tick on a blue background, which was previously reserved for users selected by Twitter, will soon adorn the profiles of all subscription customers who pay just under eight dollars a month. Corporate, government, media, publisher and celebrity accounts will all be marked with a new icon.
“Official” label as a gray tick on a white background
The new icon is a gray check mark on a white background with the word “Official” added to it. This emerges from a screenshot published by a Twitter manager. According to the image, accounts can have both ticks if they also pay the subscription fee. However, not all verified accounts today should automatically receive the official label, it cannot be purchased.
The change is said to come with the launch of the new Twitter Blue subscription. It includes access to benefits – for example, being able to give tweets more visibility. So far, the blue tick from Twitter has been awarded free of charge to celebrities, politicians, journalists and companies after an ID check. Musk argued that authentication through payment services and the app platforms of Apple and Google is sufficient, so that Twitter can do without its own examination.
Musk had also announced that subscribers should only see half of the advertising. The eight-dollar Twitter subscription could even cost money in the USA, wrote the online magazine “Platformer”, citing insiders. Because the halving of advertisements in the USA reduces advertising revenue per user by an average of six dollars, it said. A general payment barrier could further reduce the advertising reach. Ad revenue is Twitter’s main source of income.
Experts warn of disadvantages for individual journalists
Experts have also raised concerns that ticking all for a fee could lead to the spread of misinformation and fraud. A large proportion of verified accounts are now owned by individual journalists, including at local newspapers and news sites around the world. The idea was to verify reporters so their identities could not be used to spread false information on Twitter.