Twitter plans to start its verification service next Friday with different colored badges for individuals, businesses and governments, after a botched initial launch led to a rise in users posing as celebrities and brands. on the platform.
Chief Executive Elon Musk handed out colors to the categories on Friday — gold for companies, gray for governments and blue for individuals, including celebrities.
“Painful but necessary,” he said, adding that verified accounts will be manually authenticated before a verification is activated.
The $8-a-month service will allow individuals to have a smaller, secondary logo of their organization if verified by them, Musk said in another tweet on Friday. “Longer explanation next week.”
The social media platform on Monday delayed a relaunch of the service, which is expected to help Twitter boost revenue at a time when Musk is trying to retain advertisers after buying the company last month for $44 billion.
The subscription service, which Musk has dubbed a “great leveller”, was halted on Nov. 11 as fake accounts mushroomed, forcing the world’s richest man to bring back the “official” badge for some users.
For example, a user pretending to be pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly tweeted that insulin would be free, sending the company’s stock plunging.
The turmoil prompted several companies, including General Motors and United Airlines, to pause or pull ads on the platform. Twitter user growth, however, is at historic highs, according to Musk.
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