Twitter Introduces a Gray ‘Official’ Label to Verify Specific Accounts

Twitter has started to add gray «official» labels to select high-profile accounts to denote authenticity, the latest twist in new owner Elon Musk’s chaotic reworking of the platform’s verification system.

The existing technique of employing «blue checks» to certify an account’s authenticity will be phased out for people who do not pay a monthly subscription.

Checkmarks will be accessible at a later point for anyone wanting to pay a $7.99-per-month subscription, which will also include some added features such as fewer adverts and the opportunity to have tweets from non-subscribers given more prominence.

The outgoing system has around 423,000 confirmed accounts. Many of them are owned by celebrities, businesses, politicians, and media outlets.

Experts are concerned that making the checkmark available to anybody for a cost may result in impersonations and the propagation of misinformation and scams.

The gray label — a hue that blends into the background whether you scroll Twitter in light or dark mode — is an obvious compromise. However, it may cause more confusion because Twitter users used to seeing the blue check as a sign of validity will now have to hunt for the less evident «official» label.