In addition to charging Twitter users $8 a month to get or keep their blue checkmark badge, Twitter’s new CEO Elon Musk has launched a new gray checkmark badge to help users identify easier government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.
Unlike its blue counterpart, the gray checkmark badge is free of charge, but not all previously verified accounts will qualify for it.
Twitter’s Head of Early Stage Products, Esther Crawford, revealed the new badge on Tuesday and shared a screenshot of what the final label could look like.
Crawford also said about the blue checkmark badge:
“The new Twitter Blue does not include ID verification – it’s an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a blue checkmark and access to select features. We’ll continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.”
Musk claimed that having the blue badge purchasable would democratize Twitter and put an end to the “lords and peasants system,” but the new announcement clearly contradicts that claim.