Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Twitter, revealed a preliminary new user verification strategy that would be published on Friday, December 2.
The action was taken after he delayed monetizing the “blue check,” which confirms user identity, in response to a wave of parody accounts that assumed the identities of former presidents and famous people.
On the social media platform, Musk announced that there would be three different kinds of verification ticks.
He described the process as “painful but necessary” on Twitter on Friday. “Gold check for companies, gray check for the government, blue check for individuals (famous or not), and all verified accounts will be manually confirmed before the check activates,” he said.
A check mark will not be applied to any validated accounts until they have been manually authenticated, he added.
According to The Verge, the cost of a “Twitter Blue” subscription could rise from $5 to $20 (or roughly €5 to €20).
Musk has polled users on Twitter about several business initiatives, such as whether Twitter should grant all suspended accounts a general amnesty so long as they haven’t broken the law or sent out heinous spam.
He referred to the poll as a “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” (the voice of the people, the voice of God) and declared that he would start reinstating contentious accounts as a result.
Donald Trump, a former US president who was impeached for inciting rebellion over the 2021 US Capitol attack and who has been accused of disseminating COVID-19 false information, had his Twitter account reopened last week.
Many Twitter employees, including those who deleted accounts that propagated false information or incited hatred, have also been sacked by Musk.
Others have left the company in droves after Musk gave his staff an ultimatum: either commit to a “hardcore” new Twitter and put in long hours or leave the organization.
