What’s the news: Verified accounts on Twitter will soon have an “Official” label under their username to distinguish them from subscribers with blue checkmarks, announced Esther Crawford, the Director of Product Management at the company. https://twitter.com/esthercrawford/status/1590109344976470016 Shortly after Elon Musk took over the microblogging platform, the company announced the ‘Twitter Blue’ feature that allowed users to get a verified status if they paid $8 a month. For many users this effectively takes away from the original blue tick feature that offered the icon only to verified accounts. Acknowledging this concern, Crawford in a Twitter thread said, “Not all previously verified accounts will get the “Official” label and the label is not available for purchase. Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.” Why it matters: As explained, the blue tick feature was a useful indication for users to know whether an account and its tweets are authentic. Its previously free availability made it possible for journalists and netizens, not just celebrities, to verify their profiles and prevent any misinformation on their behalf. With the introduction of the new feature, the blue tick has effectively become redundant. This can also lead to confusion for some who do not know of the blue tick’s altered status as a mere decorative feature. Twitter Blue not an ID verification In the thread, Crawford went on to explain that the Twitter Blue feature does not include ID verification but acts as an opt-in.…
