As the blue check mark system inherited from Twitter finally comes to an endthe social network new paid verification system is causing more than a little chaoswith CEO Elon Musk himself stepping in to pay for verification of some celebrities when they refuse to.
Yet another small nugget to emerge from today’s carnage is that anyone looking to advertise on Twitter will now apparently have to have a verified account.
Various Twitter usersincluding social media guru matthew navarrahave posted screenshots of an email purportedly sent by Twitter, which states that as of April 21 (today), verified checkmarks are required to continue running ads on the platform.
The email says:
Building a better Twitter through verification
Hello!
Starting April 21, your @account must have a verified checkmark or subscribe to Twitter Blue or Verified Organizations to continue running ads on Twitter. Business accounts that spend more than $1000 per month already have gold checks or will soon, and will continue to enjoy access to advertising without interruption at this time.
This change aligns with Twitter’s broader verification strategy: raising the quality of content on Twitter and improving your experience as a user and advertiser. This approach also supports our ongoing efforts to reduce fraudulent accounts and bots.
Signing up for any of these services means you’ve been verified by Twitter as a real person or company.
Among other features, you will have a more visible organic presence and a wider range of creation tools. We’re excited to get you started and benefit from a superior Twitter experience.
For Twitter Blue, sign up here.
For Verified Organizations, apply here.
While Musk has been pushing subscriptions as a primary driver of money as advertisers fled the platformit is clear that Twitter still want (and need) ad dollars. The top advertisers on the platform, those who spend $1,000 each month, already receive an official gold check mark. freeindicating that it is an official business account.
There is still nothing official on Twitter ad account pages to indicate that only Verified accounts will still be able to advertise, but it makes sense to require verification from advertisers if it reduces spam or deters other bad guys from the platform. However, for this to be adequately effective, it would surely need rigorous research beyond requiring a credit card and phone number, while the $8 monthly fee isn’t a major deterrent in and of itself.
Going forward, it looks like anyone who wants to run an ad or boost a tweet will have to spend $8 a month on Twitter Blue, or $1000 a month to be recognized as a verified organization. An exception here will probably be accounts with a gray checkmark, which are reserved for official government and related accounts, such as agencies, embassies, parliaments, etc.
In any case, it’s hard to see how this move will do more than deter ad spend on Twitter.
TechCrunch reached out to Twitter for comment, but as of this writing we have yet to receive a response (other than the usual poop emojiof course).