Cacophony on Twitter: An “official” badge was launched, then scrapped by Elon Musk and finally…relaunched

GM tweeted the “official” badge in response to a user who noticed the badge was already gone.

“Blue tick will put everyone on the same level,” said the multi-billionaire who owned Twitter less than two weeks ago.

Twitter on Wednesday began rolling out the “Official” badge, which signifies an account’s credibility and notoriety, and differentiates itself from the blue verification mark, which has served that role until now.

It should soon be rolled out to all users, who will pay an average of $8 per month to subscribe to Twitter Blue, a petition military project launched by Elon Musk.

But moments after the new boss announced the drop, Esther Crawford, director of products in development, assured the “official” badge would be well established.

“The +Official+ badge will be activated when Twitter Blue launches. We’re launching with governments and businesses. What (Elon Musk) specified is that we’re not issuing the ‘Official’ badge to people. Individuals. Time,” Esther Crawford tweeted.

AFP’s accounts in French, English and Spanish, such as those of US Vice-President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pope Francis in English or controversial rapper Kanye West, were given an “official” badge without his disappearance.

“Lots of Stupid Things”

Elon Musk laid off half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees on Friday, ten days after buying the social network and launching a slew of projects, including redesigning the Twitter Blue subscription.

Since then, communication about the influencer platform’s evolution has been mainly through its tweets and tweets from some officials.

“Remember that Twitter is going to do a lot of stupid things in the coming months. Let’s keep what works and change what doesn’t,” said the eccentric boss of Tesla and SpaceX, which has 115 million subscribers. profile.

“There are no more sacred cows in Twitter products,” Esther Crawford retweeted her boss’ message.

“Elon likes to try a lot of things — some will fail, some will succeed. The goal is to find the right changes to ensure the long-term health and growth of the business,” he said.

He had described the logic of the gray “official” badges on Tuesday to Wednesday night.

“Many are wondering how to differentiate @TwitterBlue followers with blue labels and officially verified accounts,” Ms Crawford tweeted. “That’s why we introduce the +official+ label to some accounts when we launch”.

– “Democratizing Journalism” –

This weekend, on iPhones, Twitter’s mobile application already mentions the arrival of the new Twitter Blue: “Power to the people: your account will receive a blue check, just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already have. Follow”.

But the new formula, which combines practical tools and identity verification, raises many questions and criticisms.

Many users and observers fear that this system devalues ​​the guarantee of reliability that the blue tick is supposed to represent.

“Extended vetting for everyone will democratize journalism and give more power to the people,” Elon Musk asserted on Sunday.

He promises that Twitter Blue will help fight fake accounts and diversify the platform’s revenue streams, while many advertisers have temporarily pulled away from Twitter immediately after the acquisition.