Twitter says it will relaunch account verifications in early 2021 for six categories, including news, companies, and government officials, and asks for feedback
The ask for feedback matters because the scope was still moving: by December Twitter had set a January 21 policy start date and was developing profile labels for bots and memorial accounts, and when the program finally went live it came back broader than announced, adding activists and journalists to the categories.
First-order effects
Accounts in the six named categories — news, companies, and government officials among them — get a defined application path for the first time since the 2017 pause, replacing years of opaque, invitation-only approvals.
By soliciting feedback before launch, Twitter signals its category definitions and criteria are not final, giving newsrooms, brands, and government offices a window to push for inclusion of adjacent account types.
Second-order effects
News organizations and government agencies now have an operational question to answer — which of their reporters, bureaus, and officials qualify — pushing institutional identity policies onto platforms that previously handled verification case by case.
The expansion from six categories to include activists and journalists by the May 2021 rollout shows demand pressure working: every excluded constituency becomes a lobbying front Twitter must either absorb or publicly justify excluding.
Third-order effects
Verification is being repositioned from an informal status marker into a documented, policy-driven program with published rules and self-service requests — a structural template other platforms face pressure to match as identity becomes part of content trust.
If the category-expansion pattern holds, verified status drifts toward a general-purpose credential layered over the platform's identity system, raising the stakes of whatever labels (like the bot and memorial designators already in development) sit alongside it.
The trend: Platform verification is shifting from ad-hoc status symbols toward published, self-service identity programs whose category lists expand under constituency pressure.
We're planning to relaunch verification in 2021, but first we want to hear from you. Help us shape our approach to verification on Twitter by letting us know what you think. Take a look at our draft policy and submit your #VerificationFeedback here: https://blog.twitter.com/...
We're planning to relaunch Twitter's verification policy and application process in early 2021. Our goal is to bring clarity to what verification on Twitter means, the criteria we'll use for assessing verification, and how to apply. https://twitter.com/...
Hey @Twitter: if you want to stand up for facts and reality, how about adding scientists and doctors as a category for verified accounts??? https://help.twitter.com/...
YouTubers, Twitch Streamers, and other content creators are some of the most frequently impersonated twitter users, and for some reason they're also rarely verified. Please, take this survey and tell twitter that digital content creators need the badge. https://blog.twitter.com/.…
My feelings about verification are still: - It should have different flavors ("politician," “journalist,” “doctor") - It should be available to all - It is not nearly as complicated as Twitter thinks. Tinder launched verification months ago. Tinder! https://techcrunch.com/...
This is interesting, but it still does not really answer: what is verification *for*? I applied years ago - as a blogger, so falling into “Activists, organizers, and other influential individuals” but I'd not be top .1% follower numbers in 🇩🇪 #VerificationFeedback https://twitter…
We've released a draft of our new verification policy, and are seeking feedback from the public. If interested, we'd love your help in two ways: 1. Review the draft policy: https://help.twitter.com/... 2. Complete a survey here: https://survey.twitterfeedback.com/ ...? 🙏
It's interesting that tech isn't a category of accounts considered notable at all 🤔 And with a Wikipedia article as a criteria for “other” notability? That's one way to avoid verifying female engineers I guess https://twitter.com/...
I like the fact that Twitter is taking the time to get feedback and going back to fix mistakes. It shows openness to change and improvement https://techcrunch.com/...
Twitter is bringing back account verifications for brands, activists, and journalists in early 2021: https://techcrunch.com/... https://twitter.com/...
The policy claims that if you've violated Twitter's policies then you lose blue check status. Does this mean the NY Post or various US politicians will lose that status going forward after they're restricted for sharing misinformation or hate speech? Seems extremely unlikely.
Twitter relaunches verification but hasn't fixed the issue which caused them to pause it in the 1st place. It conflates 1. Notability 2. Authentication Is giving a known racist a blue check an endorsement or proving it's their real account? Not answered. https://blog.twitter.com/…
My suggestion: 1) Verify everyone and every company who wants to be verified 2) Detach “verification” from the meaning of “status” 3) If a user changes their name, username, or profile, they have to re-verify. 4) To verify, must use Gov ID (or biz license) & verify phone # https:…
Give us multiple levels of verification: famous people and celebrities and us regular folks who are actually who we say we are. https://twitter.com/...
We're relaunching verification in 2021. But first, we must clarify what verification is and who can be verified. Today, we're asking for feedback on a draft of our new policy. Help shape our approach by letting us know what you think. #VerificationFeedback https://twitter.com/...
i hope y'all stop verifying candidates for office, until they win. there are so many people who run long-shot campaigns and then use this app and their blue check to sow chaos and build their profile. the “candidate for” label is good enough. https://twitter.com/...
i better be able to get a fucking blue check out of this. i may not be an organizer but i am a damn elections staffer. i've already had an account impersonate me once to try to commit identity theft https://twitter.com/...
Twitter updates verification protocol with no path to verification for new media/social media influencers. This is a major slap in the face to a lot of active users who are prone to heavy impersonation and false flagging. https://help.twitter.com/...
Twitter is currently opening this up for public comment before they implement the policy. Thankfully, there IS an option for influencers in the survey. More info on how you can help below. Please RT to spread awareness. https://twitter.com/...
.@TwitterSupport please verify @marcjfranklin so that people stop thinking we're the same person, which happens ALL THE TIME. (Also because he is good at this website, is a very good photographer and should be verified.) https://twitter.com/...
As Twitter relaunches its verification process it also says that it'll be removing verification badges from accounts which repeatedly violate the rules. https://twitter.com/...
Remember THREE YEARS AGO when Twitter paused its verification program? Well, they're really working on it now and want all of our help on how to make verification better. I'll start: All dogs should be verified https://www.theverge.com/...