Twitter’s solution for ruining verification is another checkmark

Twitter is rolling out another type of checkmark to help distinguish accounts that users actually need to know are real. Although you can pay for a blue checkmark with the new version of Twitter Blue, select accounts for governments, companies, or public figures will get a gray “Official” checkmark, according to a thread from Twitter’s Esther Crawford, who is heading up the new Twitter Blue initiative.

“A lot of folks have asked about how you’ll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the “Official’ label to select accounts when we launch,” Crawford says.

“Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.”

Being previously verified doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get the new “Official” label, and you can’t buy the new label, meaning Twitter will be the one making the call on who gets to have it. Crawford shared a screenshot of the label on the @Twitter account, but it’s not actually on the account yet, so it seems the label hasn’t been rolled out.

However, that tactic is reactive instead of proactive; if someone is set on spreading misinformation, they’d potentially have the opportunity to do so before moderators could step in. The company seems to understand this at some level, given the new checkmark and its recent decision to delay the new verification system’s rollout until after the US midterm elections, which are being held on Tuesday.