There's a subtle difference between Twitter’s new $8 verified badge and its traditional checkmark
Billionaire Elon Musk has said Twitter will do 'lots of dumb things' under his leadership
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There is a subtle difference between the "verified" checkmark Twitter is allowing its users to buy and the traditional checkmark granted to public figures.
Billionaire Elon Musk rolled out the purchasable verification badge soon after taking over the company in late October, arguing the old system lead to a "lords and peasants" culture. Nevertheless, the platform still differentiates between users who purchased their checkmarks and those who didn't.
For users with prior checkmarks, the description of their account reads, "This account is verified because it is notable in government, news, entertainment or another designated category." Meanwhile, those who purchase the checkmark read have a description reading, "This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue."
Accounts that were verified prior to Musk's takeover also have not been required to pay to keep their badges.
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ANKARA, TURKIYE - OCTOBER 06: In this photo illustration, the image of Elon Musk is displayed on a computer screen and the logo of twitter on a mobile phone in Ankara, Turkiye on October 06, 2022. (Muhammed Selim Korkutata / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Users noted the discrepancy hours after Musk himself announced that Twitter would do "lots of dumb things" under his leadership.
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Musk took over Twitter at the end of October and promptly made sweeping changes to the company, firing top executives and thousands of other employees. The company's new strategy will be to try numerous options to see what sticks.
"Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months," Musk wrote. "We will keep what works & change what doesn’t."
Musk is still looking for solutions to the verification issue, as his statement came as Twitter rolled out — and then promptly killed — a new "official" badge, which first began appearing on accounts Wednesday morning.
Both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have fired thousands of employees from Twitter and Meta.
The "official" badge appeared to have been deemed necessary due to Musk's plans to allow users to pay for the existing blue "verified" badge. The company has had a halting rollout of its subscription program, which will cost between $4 and $8 per month.
Only a smattering of accounts featured the "official" badge before it was removed, including major news outlets, political organizations and some politicians.
Musk's stated goal in purchasing Twitter was to protect the freedom of speech, saying in a statement last week that a public square open to diverse opinions is necessary for democracy to thrive.
Musk announced the firings of several top executives at the company to that end, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and head of legal policy, trust, and safety Vijaya Gadde.
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Gadde led the company's push to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story first published in the New York Post prior to the 2020 election.