This is how Twitter rolls out smoothly “official” verification badges. Elon Musk ClaimHe “just killed the deployment” hours after it began. The gray checkmarks disappeared from all accounts, not just Engadget’s. The New York Times. This isn’t necessarily an abrupt change. Esther Crawford, Twitter VP ClarifiedYou’ll still be able to see the marks but the social media giant will first hand them out to “government or commercial entities”. The executive stated that the emphasis isn’t on individual users.
Musk used Musk’s move to justify his decision. reiteratedHe believes that tieing the original checkmark is the best way to go. Subscribe to Twitter BlueThis will make the service more accessible. He said that the blue check is the “greater leveler”. Crawford, meanwhile, stressedMusk understood that there was no longer any “sacred cattle” and that he was open to trying new things, even if they fail. To put it another way, the company is open to reversing course if features are not successful.
These statements add confusion to the chaos surrounding the official label launch. Although they suggest that Twitter will focus on a smaller number of accounts, it is not clear when celebrities or other public figures may be able to get (or reclaim) verification. This also creates uncertainty around Twitter’s feature updates — Musk may axe or limit an update even while it’s reaching customers.
It will take some time for it to be clear who gets what checkmarks and what vetting will need to obtain the “official tag”. Twitter will tie its original tag to an $8 per monthly Blue subscription. This is the only sure assumption.
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