Everyone is going to know if you are one of the people who got a blue checkmark by paying for it.
Earlier today, Twitter rolled out the new version of Twitter Blue which, in addition to increasing the price to $8 per month, gives anyone who subscribes to the subscription service the famous blue checkmark. For anyone who was hoping you might be able to pass off as someone who had the blue checkmark prior to the launch of the new Twitter Blue, you're out of luck.
Spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, tapping on the blue checkmark on a user's profile page will tell you if they got the checkmark the old way or the new way. If they got the checkmark the new way, you'll see a message calling the profile out, saying "this account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue."
You can see the difference between the old verification and the new one below:
welcome to the new blue tick Twitter. There are now two blue ticks, so you can tell who’s paying $8 or not 🙃 pic.twitter.com/ALzMSRrztqNovember 9, 2022
Elon Musk thinks the new way will still work
Elon Musk hosted a Twitter Space earlier today where the new CEO answered a range of questions from users and advertisers. During the call, the concern around buying your way to verification was, of course, brought up with the new Chief Twit.
Musk responded to the concerns by saying Twitter Blue is actually a great way to ensure identity on the platform. The CEO said that, in addition to costing that $8 per month, which Musk sees as a barrier for some bad actors, the company will also be using phone and credit/debit card data to ensure authenticity. Musk says that, even if someone can keep paying the $8 per month on new accounts, they won't have an unlimited supply of credit cards and cell phones to hide with.
We'll see how that approach to verification goes. A number of users have already popped up as impersonators of other accounts from Lebron James to Nintendo. Musk's approach is quickly being put to the test.
