Last month, after temporarily halting new applications for its revamped verification process Twitter announced it is “back to rolling out access to request a blue badge.” Twitter said it put a pause on new applications in order to improve “the application flow and review process.” This might have something to do with the fake accounts that the company accidentally verified in July. It seems the company has now learned from its past mistakes.
Back in May, Twitter relaunched its perennially troubled verification program which was stopped from 2017. Twitter’s criteria for verification is that the account should be “authentic, notable, and active” but due to differences in public perception of verification, new controversies arose surrounding the program.
Initially, there were numerous cases of genuinely notable and influential figures going unverified. Some users see verification as a prestige item while others see it as a mark of reliability, rather than simply notoriety. Previously, Twitter has failed to keep this diverse set of users happy with its uncoordinated approach to business.
For example, even though the company pointed out any user can apply for verification again, its FAQ page still clearly states “There is no way to apply for verification today” since the beginning of the year. This means Twitter has not updated this section of the FAQ page even after eight and half months in 2021. The tech circle hopes Twitter will sort out this mess sometime sooner than later.
