Twitter scraps ‘Official’ label soon after launch; Elon Musk says ‘I just killed it’

Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk has said the social media giant will “do lots of dumb things” in the coming months as the platform scrapped the “Official” label after it was put on select verified accounts including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s.

Also read: Twitter Blue set for India rollout in less than a month, says Elon Musk

The new “Official” tag was introduced on Wednesday (November 9) but soon it disappeared from the accounts with Musk saying, “I just killed it.”

I just killed it

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022

In a tweet, Twitter support said, “We’re not currently putting an “Official” label on accounts but we are aggressively going after impersonation and deception.”

We’re not currently putting an “Official” label on accounts but we are aggressively going after impersonation and deception.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 9, 2022

PM Modi’s Twitter account had received the “Official” tag but now it has vanished. Even Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar too had the label.

Chandrasekhar had shared a screenshot of his account with the “Official” label and wrote, “and its official.. @Twitter says I am official.”

and its official.. @Twitter says I am official 😁😁 pic.twitter.com/qenm6TBJcx

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) November 9, 2022

Earlier, Musk, who has changed his Twitter bio to “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator”, said, “Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.”

Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months.

We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022

In another tweet, he wrote, “We are changing the text to say “Legacy Verified. Could be notable, but could also be bogus.””

Also read: Takeover by Elon Musk: Twitter starts laying off staff in India; to seal offices

He said Twitter will add granularity to verified badge. “In days to come, we’ll add granularity to verified badge, such as organizational affiliation & ID verification. Rollout of new verified Blue is intentionally limited just to iOS in a few countries with very little promotion. As we iron out issues, we will expand worldwide on all platforms.”

Twitter’s early stage products executive Esther Crawford had earlier explained the move behind introducing “Official” labels.

“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,” she tweeted.

After taking over Twitter, Musk has been introducing a lot of changes including sacking its employees.

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. pic.twitter.com/0p2Ae5nWpO

— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 8, 2022