Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
It was just yesterday that Twitter’s Esther Crawford announced Twitter’s Official verification checkmarks. These transparent checkmarks would be displayed beneath the name of existing verified accounts that Twitter deemed worthy of the distinction. That change went live today, but before users could even get a solid understanding of how it was being rolled out, the new checkmarks were scrapped altogether. We quickly learned why, as Elon Musk said that it was his decision to cancel the feature.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted in response to tech content creator Marques Brownlee that he pulled Twitter’s new Official verification checkmarks. “I just killed it,” he said in response to Brownlee wondering why he was granted one of the new Official checkmarks, only to have it revoked shortly thereafter. In a follow-up to that tweet, Musk said “Blue check will be the great leveler.” One checkmark to rule them all, it seems.
Twitter’s new Official checkmarks went from announced, to released, to canceled in less than 24 hours. That’s a fast turnaround, and one that Elon Musk spoke to in a separate tweet. “Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months,” he said. “We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.” It’s unclear what Twitter saw in such a short window of time that made it clear the new Official checkmark system wasn’t working, but the change has been made.
This all comes ahead of the relaunch of Twitter Blue, which will allow users to have their accounts verified alongside a handful of other perks at the price of $8 a month. Originally set to launch last week, the new Twitter Blue was delayed past the midterm elections. It’s currently unknown when it will be released. As we continue to follow the latest developments at Twitter, stick with us here on Shacknews.