Twitter seems to have slightly rolled back on its decision to remove the legacy blue checkmark from verified accounts. While verified users were supposed to lose their tick entirely if they didn’t subscribe to Twitter Blue by 1 April, the company now makes no distinction between legacy and paying verified users.
Previously, accounts that received verification from the bird app due to notability will have “This is a legacy verified account” noted when you click on their blue checkmark while paid-for ticks will also disclosed. Now, the blue checkmark for any account, subscriber or legacy, will say “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.”
This change is significant in that it diminishes whatever credibility that Twitter’s verification programme had left. Removing the distinction between the two categories of blue ticks opens up the door for further fraud and chaos as users will find it more difficult to tell which accounts are real and which are impersonators with a subscription.
Unlike with the legacy verification process, Twitter Blue does not require you to submit any ID to ensure you are who you say you are. Instead, any active account older than 30 days can get verified with just a phone number and paying the monthly subscription.
The subscription was recently expanded to several countries including Malaysia, where it starts from RM35 per month or RM369 per year depending on the platform. While it may be a tad too high, it probably won’t be enough of a deterrent for bad actors who wish to impersonate notable figures or organisations.
That being said, organisations can get a special gold or grey checkmark through Twitter’s new Verified Organizations programme, which is a paid-for verification process for companies and government officials. It costs RM4,500 per month and RM230 per month for each affiliate account.
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