What was the name of Twitter’s 2009 feature for marking accounts as authentic?

Twitter’s 2009 feature for marking accounts as authentic was called Verified Accounts.

Twitter introduced account verification in 2009 to help users identify authentic profiles belonging to notable people and organizations. The blue checkmark became the visual sign associated with that status. The system addressed impersonation concerns, especially for celebrities, public officials, athletes, and major brands.

Verification did not mean that every post from an account was true, nor did it originally mean that the account had paid for access. Its initial purpose was identity authenticity. That distinction became less clear after ownership and subscription changes altered how checkmarks were assigned.

The feature is often confused with labels for government or automated accounts. Those labels serve different purposes. Verification also changed under X, where subscription-based checkmarks and organizational account systems replaced much of the original approach.