Twitter to withdraw ‘verification badge’ from some accounts

 

Twitter is amending its policy on “verified” accounts, reserving the right to remove the blue badges from users who violate the online platform’s terms of service.

The move came a week after Twitter launched a review of its policy following disclosures that neo-Nazi and white supremacist leaders had received verification of their accounts.

The blue verification badge was created by Twitter to vouch for the authenticity of content from political leaders, celebrities and journalists, and to distinguish it from spoof or parody accounts.

But in its announcement Wednesday, Twitter said its process until now failed to take into account whether users promoted violence or hate speech or otherwise violated its terms of service.

“We’re working on a new authentication and verification program. In the meantime, we are not accepting any public submissions for verification and have introduced new guidelines for the program,” a tweet from the company said.

“We are conducting an initial review of verified accounts and will remove verification from accounts whose behavior does not fall within these new guidelines.”

Source: The Guardian