New Twitter chief executive Elon Musk has said that the social media platform will begin rolling out different-coloured verification ticks in addition to the existing blue symbol.

"Gold check for companies, grey check for governments, blue for individuals (celebrities or not). Painful, but necessary," Musk said in a tweet.

The company recently announced a $8 per month blue tick verification cost but put its rollout on pause after fake accounts bloomed across its platform, with anyone paying the fee gaining access to the same verified status as a celebrity or organisation.

Musk said all verified accounts would now be manually authenticated before the check is activated.

In a bid to ensure impersonator accounts don’t arise again, Musk also stated in another tweet that "individuals can have a secondary tiny logo to show they belong to an organisation if verified as such by that organisation”, adding that he would give a longer explanation at a later date.

After Musk took the helm last month and later made the decision to reinstate banned accounts of controversial public figures, firms concerned about the proliferation of hate speech on the platform, including General Motors and Audi, pulled their advertising.

Paid verification was one of the first changes Musk made to Twitter as a means of driving revenue to cover the advertiser exodus

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