Twitter to bring back its ‘blue checkmark’ verification for individual users after a three-year hiatus
- Twitter will start verifying individual users again for the first since 2017
- It’s unclear when exactly the verification request process will be launched
- The company will also clarify guidelines around who can be verified
Twitter will finally reintroduce its ‘blue checkmark’ verification program after a more than three-year hiatus.
According to reverse engineering master Jane Manchun Wong, Twitter is working on a new system of verification as evidenced by a ‘request verification’ field found in the ‘personal information’ section of its app’s settings.
Specifically, the new system will allow individual users to request verification from Twitter for the first time since 2017.
Twitter has come toe-to-toe with President Donald Trump after the platform fact-checked a tweet claiming mail-in voting results would be fraudulent. Picture: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey
Since a tweet posted by Manchun Wong detailing her findings, Twitter has confirmed that it’s working on a revamped verification process.
Perhaps more significantly than the program returning, is the fact that Twitter will, for the first time, clarify how its verification process works and what purpose it serves.
In 2017 Twitter’s verification process came under scrutiny after the company verified the account of a known white supremacist who organized racist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia.
While Twitter argued that its verification process was meant to apply to accounts considered ‘public interest,’ the choice sparked a debate over whether those propagating hate speech should be allowed into the process.
The company has continued to verify accounts since it discontinued individual requests, but only those firmly in the public eye – namely politicians and in recent times public health experts.
Though Twitter plans on reinstituting verifications, it didn’t provide any details on when users will be able to start submitting requests.