Billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform Twitter will introduce an “Official” label for certain verified accounts, including major media outlets and governments, when it launches its new $8 premium subscription product, it said on Tuesday Esther Crawford, Early Stage Product Manager.
Crawford also confirmed that the revamped Twitter Blue subscription product will allow paying users to wear blue checkmarks on their accounts and will not verify user identities.
The lack of ID verification will likely raise concerns about the possibility of people impersonating public figures.
Already, such concerns have caused Twitter to hold off on launching the new version of Twitter Blue until after the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, tweeted Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity.
According to sources familiar with the matter and researchers, fake accounts for government officials are a recurring issue for Twitter globally.
Not all Twitter accounts previously verified with a blue check mark will get the “Official” label, which is unavailable for purchase, Crawford said.
Accounts that will receive the official label include governments, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some other public figures, she tweeted.
The introduction of a new label alongside the existing check marks “creates a confusing system” where some, but not all, previously verified accounts will be deemed official, said Jason Goldman, a former Twitter board member. He served as head of product in his early years.
“It’s a complete mess,” he said.
The official label comes after an internal push by Twitter policy executives, who had strong concerns about government officials worldwide being unlikely and unwilling to pay for verified check marks, one source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Twitter, which has lost many members of its communication team, did not respond to a request for further comment.
Crawford added on Tuesday that Twitter will “continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.”