Twitter Official labels roll out to high-profile accounts – not Tesla

Twitter’s new grey ‘Official’ verified labels begin rolling out to some high-profile accounts – but Elon Musk’s Tesla is yet to receive one!

  • Several celebrity and publisher Twitter accounts now feature an ‘Official’ label
  • This includes the Daily Mail Online, BBC, NASA and Netflix
  • But Elon Musk’s car giant, Tesla, is yet to receive the new ‘Official’ label 
  • Twitter plans to start letting users pay $8/month for the blue tick 

Twitter’s latest approach to verification – offering grey ticks and an ‘Official’ label to high-profile accounts – has begun rolling out on the platform.

Several celebrity and publisher accounts, including Daily Mail Online, now feature an ‘Official’ label alongside the blue verified badge. 

Surprisingly, Tesla is yet to receive the ‘Official’ label, despite being run by ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk. 

It comes as the platform prepares to start allowing any user to sign up for its blue-tick verification badge by signing up to the firm’s Twitter Blue subscription service and paying a monthly fee.

Twitter’s latest approach to verification – offering grey ticks and an ‘Official’ label to high-profile accounts – has begun rolling out on the platform

HOW COULD MUSK CHANGE TWITTER? 

  • Charge a $8 per month subscription fee for a ‘Blue Tick’
  • More adverts 
  • Relax content restrictions
  • Make its algorithms open source
  • Ridding spam bots with increased authentication checks
  • Cheaper ‘Twitter Blue’ service
  • Edit Button for users worldwide
  • Bring back Vine and incorporate it with Twitter

In response to concerns this will make it harder to identify authentic accounts on the site as Blue subscribers will not be required to verify who they are, Twitter said it was adding a second, ‘Official’ badge to select accounts as a way of distinguishing Blue subscribers from those the platform has verified as official.

Some industry commentators have argued the new double-verification process will only make the system more confusing.

But the new grey Official badge has now started to appear on a number of high-profile accounts, including those for major news organisations and public figures.

Tweeting about the change, Twitter’s director of product management, Esther Crawford, said: ‘Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘Official’ label and the label is not available for purchase.

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

‘The new Twitter Blue does not include ID verification – it’s an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a blue checkmark and access to select features.

‘We’ll continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.’

The changes to the verification system have been a central part of Elon Musk’s plans since the billionaire completed his takeover of the site last month.

Musk said opening the verification process up to more people will help democratise Twitter and cut down on the spam and bot accounts on the site.

Surprisingly, Tesla is yet to receive the ‘Official’ label, despite being run by ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk

It comes as the platform prepares to start allowing any user to sign up for its blue-tick verification badge by signing up to the firm’s Twitter Blue subscription service and paying a monthly fee 

However, critics have argued charging people to get a blue badge and the other perks that come with it – including verified replies appearing more prominently – will only help those who are able to pay for it and not the platform’s authentic users as a whole.

The introduction of the $8 (£7) monthly fee for Twitter Blue is also part of Musk’s efforts to create new revenue streams for Twitter.

The platform is currently almost entirely dependent on money from advertising – an income stream already shrinking because of the global economic downturn.

There have also been reports advertisers could withdraw from the site if Musk enacts some of his other controversial plans for Twitter, including allowing banned accounts such as that of Donald Trump to return.

TIMELINE OF ELON MUSK’S CHAOTIC ATTEMPT TO TAKEOVER TWITTER 

April 2: Musk announces that he owns 9.2 percent of the company, making him its largest single shareholder 

April 14: Musk offers to take Twitter private at $54.20 a share, valuing the company at $44billion 

April 25: Twitter accepts Musk’s offer

April 29: Musk sells $8billion in Tesla shares to finance deal 

May 13: Musk says Twitter deal is on hold pending a review of bot accounts

May 26: Musk is sued by Twitter for stock manipulation during takeover 

July 8:  Musk says he’s backing out of the deal. Twitter sues, trying to force him into seeing it through.

October 4: Musk proposes again to go ahead with the deal at the original price

October 17: Proposed trial date in Delaware

October 26: Musk visits Twitter HQ with a sink, updates his bio on the site to ‘Chief Twit’ and sets his location to Twitter HQ

October 27: Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter is finally completed

October 28: Musk fires top Twitter employees, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and top counsel Vijaya Gadde, the woman responsible for banning President Trump after the January 6 riots last year.

October 30: Twitter employees are told by Musk to make verified accounts a feature that’s exclusive to Twitter Blue, the platform’s paid subscription service

October 31: Musk confirms he’s the new CEO of Twitter and dissolves the board of directors

Source: Read Full Article

Previous post Melting Greenland ice sheet could cause sea levels to rise by 0.5in
Next post ‘The Calling,’ From David E. Kelley, Is a Preposterous Crime Drama: TV Review