The brief life of Twitter’s “official” button

The “official” account label was introduced on Twitter this week to prevent users from impersonating key political leaders and authorities

The brief life of Twitter’s “official” button | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Twitter on Wednesday implemented a feature that designated some verified accounts as “official” through a special label before quickly removing it, as CEO Elon Musk claimed he had “killed” the new update.

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The social media platform launched the new Twitter Blue subscription service which allows users to pay $7.99 per month to have the “verified” checkmark added to their account. However, one key difference is that clicking on the checkmark reveals whether the user received their verification for free or by paying for it.

A screenshot of the verified checkmark on Twitter Blue accounts | Photo Credit: Twitter

In addition to this feature, Twitter introduced a smaller, grey “Official” label under a number of accounts belonging to high-profile media outlets and celebrities. The main Twitter handle of The Hindu also received the “official” label, placed under the verified checkmark it received for free.

However, when web video producer and gadget reviewer Marques Brownlee commented on the update and its subsequent disappearance, Musk replied, “I just killed it.”

The tech billionaire added that the (paid) blue check would be the “great leveler.”

The “official” account label was introduced on Twitter this week to prevent users from impersonating key political leaders and authorities. Still, users complained - often directly to Musk - that the additional verification label defeated the purpose of a paid verification checkmark. After several hours, the update was axed.

“We’re not currently putting an “Official” label on accounts but we are aggressively going after impersonation and deception,” posted Twitter Support on Thursday.

Musk also noted that such quick-lived updates might be on course for Twitter in the near future.

“Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” he tweeted on Wednesday.

The day before the U.S. midterm elections on November 8, Musk tweeted to his more than 100 million followers that he recommended voting for a Republican Congress.