Twitter has updated the description of its verified accounts, making it difficult to differentiate between paying profiles and legacy verified accounts.
Although Twitter had announced the removal of the blue checkmarks, it seems the process will take time, and in the meantime, Twitter has found another way to democratize the blue tick.
The new wording on the pop-up that appears when you click on a checkmark in the app blurs the line between Twitter Blue subscribers and older verified accounts. This change diminishes the value of the verification product, which is further weakened with subsequent sales.
Twitter’s CEO, Elon Musk, has said that soon, accounts will show the date of verification to help users understand their validity. Currently, there is no ID check or qualification process for Twitter Blue, and users only need to pay to get a blue tick.
The next big milestone is on April 15th when only paying accounts will have their tweets shown in the ‘For You’ feeds of users who don’t follow them. However, for now, legacy verified users have retained their checkmarks until Twitter removes them.
The flaw in the process of selling verification ticks is that the value of the product that Twitter is selling is diminished with every subsequent sale. The more people pay for checkmarks in the app, the less differentiation it has to have one, and this wording change blurs that line straight away, even if it takes Twitter weeks or months to remove the old blue ticks.
Eventually, users will be able to tell whether an account is verified or not, as verified accounts will be the only ones appearing in recommendations. Maybe that’s the bigger move, separating paying users, which may make it less important that Twitter removes the old checkmarks in a timely manner.
Without any actual verification process in place, it’s impossible to call it ‘verified’, as it’s just whoever is willing to pay for it. In theory, paying for verification could work as a deterrent to stop scammers from creating armies of bot accounts, as they’ll have to pay to get any real reach.
In reality, it’s probably not going to be an effective approach on this front either.
In conclusion, Twitter’s recent updates to verified accounts make it difficult to distinguish between paying profiles and legacy verified accounts. While the removal of the blue checkmarks is still ongoing, the new wording on the pop-up blurs the line between Twitter Blue subscribers and older verified accounts.
The value of the verification product is diminishing with every subsequent sale, and there is no ID check or qualification process for Twitter Blue. However, Twitter’s CEO has said that soon, accounts will show the date of verification to help users understand their validity.
