Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, has issued a warning that the social media site “will do lots of dumb things in coming months.”
Musk made this statement on Wednesday, hours after Twitter discontinued a brand-new verification feature. The social networking site had debuted its eagerly anticipated Twitter Blue membership service, which lets users pay $8 per month for the blue tick authentication and a second grey “official” badge for some high-profile accounts.
The introduction of Twitter Blue, which is currently only accessible through the mobile app on iPhones and in the United States, was overshadowed by the almost immediate cancellation of the new grey badge.
Hours after the new “official” badge was added to government accounts, significant corporations, and major media outlets, Musk tweeted, “I just killed it.”
“Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in the coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” Musk added.
The “official” badge was only going to be offered to “government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and some public figures”.
“A lot of folks have asked about how you’ll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the ‘Official’ label to select accounts when we launch,” Twitter’s Early-Stage Products Executive Esther Crawford said before the badge was launched.
“Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘Official’ label and the label is not available for purchase. Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and some public figures.
“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,” Crawford added.