Tagging accounts as affiliated will cost Verified Organizations R910 for each handle. These prices appear to exclude VAT, based on Twitter’s localised version of the product listing. “Verified Organizations is for organizations of all types — businesses, non-profits, and government institutions,” Twitter’s information dialog about the feature states. In addition to verification management, Twitter Verified Organizations get a custom profile with a square avatar and a new tab that lists all affiliated accounts. The pricey subscription includes premium support and increased limits on the number of tweets, direct messages, and media uploads allowed. It also includes all the benefits of Twitter Blue and impersonation defence. “Accounts impersonating Verified Organizations are flagged for further review if impersonation is detected,” Twitter states.

Critics of the scheme say that Twitter used to offer such impersonation defence for free to prominent individuals and organizations. Proponents would argue that being considered notable enough to qualify for a Twitter checkmark in the past was an opaque system that appeared to be rife with favouritism. Although Twitter CEO Elon Musk had announced the social network would terminate all legacy verification badges on 20 April (4/20 — a favourite meme of his), the platform has quietly restored blue checkmarks for several prominent accounts. Based on anecdotal evidence, it appears the verification badges for users with over a million followers were restored. However, some exceptions seem to disprove this theory, including well-known actor Ryan Reynolds whose verification mark was not restored despite having 21.3 million followers. Stephen King, LeBron James, and William Shatner never lost their checkmarks, and Musk ultimately revealed that he is paying for their Twitter Blue subscriptions. In addition to the launch of Verified Organizations in South Africa and the Twitter Blue “purge” last week, advertisers are also now required to pay for verification or reach a minimum monthly spend.

When Musk first proposed the $8 per month Twitter Blue service (after a public back-and-forth with author Stephen King about the price), he promised it would be regionally adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). However, this promised regional price differentiation has not materialized. Twitter Blue costs R144.95 in South Africa if you subscribe through the website, which aligns with the $8 per month US price. The World Bank lists South Africa’s 2021 PPP conversion factor as 7.17, suggesting that we should have an adjusted price of around R60 per month for Twitter Blue. Similarly, the $1,000 Verified Organizations service should be around R7,200 per month and affiliated users R360 each, had Musk delivered on his promise. MyBroadband contacted Twitter for comment on the lack of purchasing power-adjusted prices. However, Musk reportedly fired Twitter’s media team, and the company’s press address now responds to all emails with a poop emoji.