Twitter's New Verification Plan Leaked: Blue Tick Bundled With Subscription?

Twitter, under Elon Musk's leadership, is expected to adopt a new way of verifying accounts. Verified Twitter accounts sport a blue tick. The micro-blogging platform has been quite reserved about the privilege. However, anyone with a Twitter Blue subscription could get the checkmark, according to internal documents on the updated account verification system.

Twitter's New Verification System Relies On Subscription?

Less than a week has passed since Elon Musk took over Twitter, and the new CEO has already made several changes. Besides letting the entire board members go, and effectively firing Twitter's top management, Musk is now exploring ways of boosting the platform's revenues.

Elon Musk has reportedly asked Twitter employees to quickly deploy a new, and pricier, Twitter Blue subscription. Musk had hinted that the subscription may be tied to the account verification system. In other words, anyone who can pay $8 per month, could get the blue tick, which currently denotes the Twitter account is verified.

Leaked documents, reportedly accessed by The New York Times, seem to confirm the updated account verification system is completely different from the prevalent one. The modified verification system could be lacking any identity verification protocol. The report claims that "subscribers would not need their identities authenticated to get the check mark."

Anyone Can Just Buy A Verified Twitter Account?

The updated account verification system could be rolled out as early as this month. Anyone with a Twitter Blue subscription would receive a checkmark. It is not clear if this checkmark would be different from the prevalent blue tick.

Twitter has traditionally positioned the blue tick as a trust-building mechanism. The platform has reserved the verified account badge for journalists, government institutions, disaster management bodies, celebrities, and other personalities that have a credible influence on society.

By bundling the blue tick with a subscription, Twitter has essentially put a price on a verified account. Moreover, the platform is indirectly threatening to snatch the badge away if the user does not pay for Twitter Blue.

Musk claims his methods will address the problem of bots and other issues. However, many users would simply pay Twitter $8 per month to sport the blue tick. The redesigned Twitter Blue subscription system is expected to be rolled out in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the initial phase. However, if Musk wants to charge for a verified account, the subscription will have to be rolled out everywhere.