Twitter’s “official” tag is the new blue tick, don’t you get it yet?

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(Pocket-lint) – While Twitter is now charging users for a blue tick, it seems not all “verified” tweeters are created equal. To identify accounts that have actually been verified among the multitude of followers, they will also be given an “official” label on their profile.

And, unlike the blue tick, the “Official” label cannot be purchased. It’s only for verified members of a certain category: “Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, corporations, business partners, mainstream media, publishers, and select public figures,” wrote Esther Crawford, of the early-stage product team at Twitter.

So basically, “Official” is the new blue tick. You do not understand ? You will not be alone.

Esther Crawford also clarified that the existing badge no longer requires verification – you can literally pay for one: “The new Twitter Blue does not include identity verification – it’s a paid subscription that offers a blue tick and access to certain features,” she added.

Many

people asked us how we could tell the difference between subscribers to @TwitterBlue with a blue tick and verified accounts as official, which is why we will be introducing the “Official” label on some accounts at launch. pic.twitter.com/0p2Ae5nWpO-

Esther Crawford (@esthercrawford) November 8, 2022

Twitter has already lost some big account holders since Elon Musk took over. For example, Stephen Fry may have had 12 million followers and been one of the most influential tweeters since the platform’s inception, but he has now closed his account and decamped to Mastodon.

This phenomenon is partly due to the adoption of a payment model for the blue tick, but also to the controversial way in which Twitter reduced its staff when Musk arrived.