Yellow Checkmarks Are Popping Up on Twitter, but What Do They Mean?

In the era of Elon Musk, Twitter has often felt like a pretty chaotic and confusing space. It's the kind of place where things are changing rapidly, and that's especially true of Twitter Blue. 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. What does the yellow checkmark mean? Keep reading to find out!

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." Currently, 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. Eagle-eyed observers 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.

Although the timeline for this isn't clear, Twitter also announced that it would be rolling out a gray checkmark that was designed for "government and multilateral accounts.” The goal is to make it crystal clear whether an account is legitimate or was created by a person who paid for verification so that they could claim to be Eli Lilly or some other major corporation.

Even as Elon and the team left at Twitter continue to roll out a variety of new functions and services on the platform, the company has been embroiled in controversy since the moment that he bought it. In part because Elon has never been shy about sharing his own views on political and cultural issues. Also, he has instituted massive lay-offs and Twitter has become a far less stable place than it once was.

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.