Technologies

Twitter Check Marks: A Handy Guide for The New Color Code

You may have noticed many changes on Twitter. To clear up the confusion over Twitter’s check marks, we have answers.

Twitter has been in a state of flux ever since Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk paid out $44 billion to take over the social media site in October last year. Big changes are still happening, including a new overhaul of Twitter’s longtime verification system that once awarded blue check marks to notable accounts — including celebrities, companies, brands and journalists.

Musk’s push to build subscription revenue led Twitter to replace its old verification system with a paid Twitter Blue service. The change makes it difficult to know the difference between a previously verified account and one that’s simply paying for the blue mark. So who can you trust on Twitter anymore? Understanding the different check mark colors and meanings can help guide you. Let’s sort it out.

Blue check mark

A blue check mark next to a username once conveyed a coveted «verified» status that meant the user was who they said they were. That’s how you’d know a tweet was coming from comedian Steve Martin and not someone pretending to be Steve Martin.

Enlarge Image

Actor, comedian and musician Steve Martin has a blue check mark to indicate he has a legacy verified Twitter account or that he’s perhaps also subscribed to Twitter Blue.

Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

The blue mark now comes with this message: «This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.»

Let’s tackle the first part of that. Twitter Blue subscribers pay $8 per month on the web or $11 on iOS and Android to get a check mark along with access to additional features like the ability to edit tweets within a 30-minute window and share longer tweets up to 4,000 characters. The higher in-app price offsets the app store commissions, so you can save money by subscribing directly through the Twitter site. Anyone who pays the fee and meets the eligibility requirements (including a confirmed phone number and active status) can have a Twitter Blue check mark.

Many well-known Twitter users spoke up against the new system, including basketball star LeBron James, who declared last week, «I ain’t paying.»

But James still has his blue check mark. Turns out Twitter decided not to take the legacy check marks away from most accounts, even if they don’t pay. To add to the turmoil of introducing the new system, Twitter removed the verified check mark from the main New York Times account as Musk referred to the news outlet as «propaganda» and «unreadable.»

Legacy verified users were once considered «active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest.» Now it isn’t necessarily easy to determine if an account is a legacy or a Twitter Blue subscriber. That confusion may detract from the value of the blue check mark that was once a badge of authenticity.

Twitter no longer has a media relations team that could help us sort through these issues.

Gold check mark

Coca-Cola features a gold check mark and square avatar on Twitter.

Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

Yes, it looks yellow, but Twitter calls the color «gold.» These marks are reserved for official business accounts that are signed up with the Twitter Verified Organizations program. Think of this as Twitter Blue on steroids for businesses and nonprofits.

Twitter Verified Organizations pay a $1,000-per-month subscription fee and are rewarded with a check mark, a square avatar, Twitter Blue features and the ability to add affiliate accounts, among other perks.

Gray check mark

The United Nations and other government and official organizations may sport a gray check mark on Twitter.

Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

It might look drab in comparison to the more colorful blue and gold marks, but the gray check mark is an important one to know. It primarily designates a government organization or official. US President Joe Biden’s account, for example, sports a gray check mark. The mark can also apply to multilateral organizations like the United Nations and the World Health Organization that encompass multiple countries.

At least gold and gray are easy to understand. Will the blue confusion continue or clear up? For Twitter users, this calls for extra scrutiny of where the information is coming from. Is that tweet from a previously verified account or some random Twitter Blue subscriber? As with most things on the internet, it pays to stay on your toes and check your sources.

Technologies

The Black Friday Gaming Deals You Want Are Already Here, Including PlayStation, Xbox and Alienware

Technologies

The Black Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Is at a Record $443 Off at Amazon for Black Friday

A Galaxy Z Fold 7 price war between Amazon and Samsung gives us a record-low deal for one color.

If you’re looking for a foldable iPhone, you’re gonna need to wait until 2026, but if you’re looking for the best foldable phone of 2025, there are great deals on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 right now at both Amazon and Samsung, with the former dropping the black version of Samsung’s foldable phone to a record-low $1,557. All other models are $1,600 at both Amazon and Samsung, a $400 discount.

Samsung’s unique foldable phones had an awkward adolescence, but after getting her hands on the new lineup, CNET reviewer Abrar Al-Heet confirms that the latest Z Fold 7 «just feels right.» For one, it’s incredibly sleek at just 8.9mm thick when closed or 4.2mm thick when open, which is so thin you may even forget that it’s foldable.

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Despite weighing just 215 grams, this foldable features some serious hardware. It has a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch interior display with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate. It’s equipped with a cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 12GB of RAM to support tons of helpful AI features and functions, and comes with Android 16 and Samsung One UI 8 right out of the box.

The camera system is also pretty impressive, boasting a 200-megapixel rear camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide shooting and a 10-megapixel front camera on both the cover and interior screens. Plus, it’s equipped with a 4,400-mAh battery for all-day use.

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Why this deal matters

With an unbelievably sleek design and cutting-edge hardware, the impressive Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is our favorite foldable phone on the market. But it also comes with a staggering $2,000 price tag, and if you’re hoping to get your hands on one, this $443 discount is a way to rack up some serious savings and help cushion the blow of its considerable cost. Just be sure to get your order in soon, as we doubt this deal will remain live for long.

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Technologies

I Almost Missed This Deal Within a Deal for Baseus’ Bose-Infused Headphones and Earbuds

Baseus’ new Inspire XH1, XP1 and XC1 models with Sound by Bose are 23% to 33% off for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But Baseus throws in its BC1 clip-on earbuds or other «free» bonus items to make the deal even sweeter.

I gave CNET Editors’ Choice awards to Baseus’ Bose-infused Baseus Inspire XH1 headphones and Inspire XP1 earbuds because they’re well designed and sound decent for what they cost. I also liked Baseus’ Inspire XC1 clip-on earbuds, which have dual- drivers and earned a spot on CNET’s best clip-on earbuds list.

Last week all three models were selling for around $110 (though they have higher list prices), but they’re now discounted to around $100 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That’s a deal I’d highlight on its own, but if you click through to any of those models’ Amazon product pages an look closely you’ll see that each is eligible for «one free item» with purchase.

Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025

You have to click the «how to claim link» and then add one of the three products to the your cart. Once one of the headphones or earbuds is added to your cart, you can click a button on the left side of screen (above the stars for average ratings) that switches the view from «qualifying items» to «benefit items.» You can then add Baseus’s BC1 clip-on earbuds, which list for $40, to your cart as a free item. Baseus’ step-up Basues MC1 Pro ($48 for Black Friday) and Inspire XC1 clip-on buds sound better, but the BC1 are fine for casual use.

If the BC1 earbuds option doesn’t thrill you, there are other freebies you can opt for. Just go back to the Amazon product page for the Inspire XH1, XP1 and XC1 and you’ll see options for one free item with $100, $90, $51 and $46 purchases. The $90 benefit item is a 30W dual-port fast charger (list price $20), which is decent, and the $51 benefit item is a retractable USB-C cable ($19 list) that’s useful. Don’t bother with the $46 benefit item.

You can read my full reviews of the Inspire XH1 headphones here and the Inspire XP1 earbuds here. And here’s my quick take of the Inspire XC1 earbuds:

Like Baseus’ noise-isolating Inspire XP1 earbuds that I rated highly, the Inspire XC1 feature «Sound by Bose» and a more premium design than earlier Baseus earbuds. The XC1 don’t sound as good as the XP1, but they sound good for open earbuds and are equipped with dual drivers, one of which is a Knowles balanced-armature driver that helps improve treble performance. While they don’t produce as much bass as noise-isolating earbuds like the Inspire XP1, their bass performance is better than I expected. The buds’ sound is pretty full, especially in quieter environments, though they do better with less bass-heavy material (I did notice a bit of distortion at higher volumes with certain tracks with harder driving bass).

While I prefer the design and fit of Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds (as well as the design of their case) and think the Bose buds sound more natural and a tad better overall, the much more affordable Inspire XC1 fit comfortably and offer top-tier sound for clip-on open earbuds (and they play louder than the Bose), as well as decent voice-calling performance with good background noise reduction.