Twitter re-enables “Official” tag after Twitter Blue verification fiasco

Twitter has enabled the “Official” tag for specific verified accounts yet again as the social media platform deals with the fallout of Twitter Blue’s verification feature. The feature was added then removed within hours when paid verification dropped.

One of Elon Musk’s big promises after buying Twitter for $44 billion was to verify all humans on the platform and bring parity to regular users and their verified celebrity counterparts.

However the implementation of paid verification via Twitter Blue, the social media platform’s paid subscription for $8 a month, has backfired entirely. Immediately users were impersonating famous stars ⁠— including the new CEO himself ⁠— with little distinguishing from the old verification stamp and the new one outside of a small disclaimer on profiles.

Originally the paid verification shipped with a feature verifying some high-interest accounts as official. Those who received the extra tick varied from news publications to internet influencers to politicians. This was shot down by Musk and removed within hours.

It has since returned to the platform late on November 11 though, with the “Official” checkmark now appearing in addition to the blue tick on specific accounts.

Certain brand accounts, big name creators, and sports stars have received the Official badge on top of their existing mark. Instead of just being visible on user profiles, it is now visible under each tweet too.

Numerous parties complained about the Twitter Blue verification rollout for many reasons. Impersonation was the glaring fault, but another was verified notification tabs now being flooded with random users who paid $8 a month. 

Verified users also can’t change their name without losing their checkmark ⁠— previously it was only changing the handle that removed the tick.

Twitter’s verification fiasco has been dunked on widely, with Tumblr offering users two ticks for the price of one. Before the rollout, #RatVerified trended on the platform as some revolted against the paid verification.

Musk did state “Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months,” but is yet to officially announce any changes to verification amid the outcry.