After suspending their verification program last week, Twitter announced via a series of tweets, that it was reworking the program, including changes that would see the verification flag removed from accounts that violate their guidelines.
Their verification process was called into question last week when it made headlines that they had verified a white supremacist, as well as other controversial users.
Verified accounts came across as an endorsement by Twitter. They even gave them extra prominence on the site, which solidified those misconceptions. Twitter said that this issue was exacerbated when verified accounts were open to public submissions.
Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon
To help rectify the issue, there is a series of new guidelines put in place for verified accounts. They have also paused public submissions for verification, and instead will re-open them once their new verification program is in place.
To learn more about their new guidelines, you can view them over on Twitter’s support portal.
