Yellow checkmarks are popping up on twitter, but what do they mean?
Elon Musk-led Twitter is shaking up its verification system. Instead of one checkmark, now there are multicolored checkmarks to denote different things. This could be very confusing for users to track. When Elon initially bought the company, his plan was to force users to pay for verification through Twitter Blue. He eventually did offer some users that option, although the feature was quickly shut down.
Now, Elon is changing Twitter Blue yet again. Users noticed that a yellow checkmark has appeared. Twitter’s verification service relaunched on Dec. 12, and with it came some new checkmarks that were less familiar than the blue ones that most people use. These checkmarks are part of the new Twitter Blue, which will cost $8 a month on desktop or $11 a month on iOS. The relaunch brings with it a new approval process designed to prevent users from taking advantage of verification to imitate other accounts.
Now that the new checkmarks have launched, Twitter’s official account is branded with a yellow checkmark, which it describes as gold. Moving forward, the yellow or gold checkmarks will represent businesses that have been verified on Twitter. The checkmark is meant to signify that the account is held by “an official business account through Twitter Blue for Business.”
Right now, Twitter is testing the feature. Not all businesses on Twitter seem to have these yellow checkmarks yet, and the process for obtaining one remains unclear. People have noted that, even inside of a single company, different accounts may have yellow or blue checkmarks. It seems the eventual goal, though, is for only accounts that have been officially verified by Twitter and represent companies to have gold checkmarks.
The major plot twists? The colors might not be blue and yellow only. Twitter has begun replacing the grey “official” labels on prominent accounts with a gold, not yellow, tick badge for businesses and a grey tick badge for government accounts.
What comes next for the platform while Elon continues to own it isn’t clear. What is evident, though, are the many ways that Elon has changed the platform in the short time he has owned it. You may like the yellow checkmarks or you may find them strange, but either way, you’re stuck with them as long Elon continues to own Twitter.
