The Twitter logo is seen on a mobile device in this illustration photo in Warsaw, Poland, on October 30, 2022. Twitter is losing its most active users according to research by Reuters. Although the most influential tweeters account for only 10 percent of monthly users, together they are responsible for 90 percent of all tweets and about half of the company’s revenue.
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In his latest round of changes to Twitter’s verification system, Twitter owner Elon Musk said he has already “killed” the new “official” designation on Wednesday that had begun rolling out for some of the most important platform early in the day.
Twitter product executive Esther Crawford revealed details of how the social network’s new verification scheme would work on Tuesday, following the company’s acquisition by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in end of October
Some originally verified accounts would carry an “official” label, Crawford said, while any user who pays $7.99 a month for Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription product, would carry a blue verification mark. He did not specify what was required to obtain “official” status.
As of Wednesday morning, several Twitter accounts, including CNBC, had an “official” designation. By Wednesday afternoon, those tags, which appeared as gray checkmarks, had disappeared.
“Be aware that Twitter is going to do a lot of stupid things in the coming months,” Musk wrote in a tweet. “We’ll keep what works and change what doesn’t.”
Crawford also acknowledged the change of course on Wednesday, writing in a tweet that “There are no more sacred cows in product on Twitter.”
“Elon is willing to try a lot of things — many will fail, some will succeed,” he said. “The goal is to find the right mix of successful changes to ensure the long-term health and growth of the business.”
In a follow-up tweet, Crawford said the official stamp will still roll out as part of the Twitter Blue rollout, but for now it will only focus on government and commercial entities.
Musk, who currently serves as CEO and sole director of Twitter, has criticized Twitter’s original verification system, which gives a blue check mark, or verification, to notable users who can be impersonated by bad actors.
Blue checks were originally to verify the identity of government officials, politicians, celebrities, some journalists, executives, medical professionals and organizations whose identity the company had verified. Musk himself has benefited from having Twitter’s verification mark. So have a host of reporters, including at CNBC.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Musk wrote: “The blue check will be the ultimate leveller.”
Under Musk’s direction, the new Twitter Blue verification brand will function as a paid subscriber badge that the company plans to call “verification,” however. The subscription service has become a major focus for Musk, who wants the platform to rely less on advertisers and generate more revenue from subscriptions.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.