Twitter Joins Optang Official Signs As Owners Of Official Accounts

Twiutter launched a new tick for the "Official" account. (photo: Twitter @esthercrawford)

JAKARTA - Twitter plans to launch another type of checkmark to help differentiate accounts that users really need to know. Although users can pay for the blue tick in the new version of Twitter Blue, certain accounts for the government, companies, or community leaders will still get a "Official check mark gray.

This policy is known from a thread shared by Esther Crawford from Twitter, who recently appointed to head the Blue Twitter Initiative.

Many people are asking about how you can distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with a blue tick and an account verified as an official account, which is why we introduced the "Official" label to select accounts as we launched, Crawford said.

A lot of folks have asked about how you'll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the “Official" label to select accounts when we launch. pic.twitter.com/0p2Ae5nWpO

— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 8, 2022

"Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media, publishers, and some community leaders," Crawford added.

Previous verified accounts don't automatically mean users will get a new "Official" label, and users can't buy a new label, which means Twitter will be the party that contacts who will have it.

Crawford shared a screenshot of the label on his @Twitter account, but it's actually not on the account yet, so it looks like the label hasn't been launched yet.

Since Musk announced that a payment of $8 per month for Twitter Blue will include verification, there are concerns that check marks are no longer useful for their main job, namely preventing impersonation.

Musk himself has become a victim and announced that anyone posing as an official without clearly identifying themselves as a parody will be permanently banned.

However, those tactics are more reactive than proactive; if someone wants to spread misinformation, they could potentially have the opportunity to do so before the moderator can intervene.

The company seems to understand this at some level, given the new ticks and the recent decision to delay the launch of a new verification system until after a part-time US election, held on Tuesday, November 8.