The biggest part of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter was the announcement that the much coveted ‘blue tick’ was to be made accessible to everyone, for a fee of only $8. ANyone who could pay for a tick would get one.

But as the new feature rolled out, there were two kinds of verification marks to be found. So what’s different?

But first some basics. The blue tick or blue checkmark is supposed to be an indicator that Twitter has taken steps to ensure that the account is actually owned by the person or organisation it is claimeing to represent. Over time, the blue tick has become a symbol of credibility on a platform where impersonation, malicious or harmless, is rampant.

However, Musk’s $8 solution creates a situation where anyone with willing to pay will be verified. So does that mean Twitter will do its due dilligence to ensure there is no impersonation.

Well, no.

Turns out there are two kinds of blue ticks now. Clicking on the mark will lead to a pop-up revealing how the user got it.

If the account has fulfilled Twitter’s checks to prove that the the user behind the account is authentic, the pop up will say, ‘This account is verified because it is notable in government, news, entertainment or another designated category.’ These accounts will also be followed by Twitter Verified (@verfied).

If an account has gained a blue tick simply by paying the $8 subscription fee, the pop-up will say, ‘This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue.’ These accounts are not followed by Twitter Verified.

However, with a barrage of impersonation, including some of Elon Musk himself, Twitter has put its verification service on hold.