Twitter says it will start its new verification policy on January 21 and is developing profile labels to designate bots and memorial accounts
Twitter
Context & Ripple Effects
Twitter froze its verification program years ago — since revoking badges and publishing new guidelines for verified accounts in 2017, the blue check has been effectively closed. In November it broke that freeze by announcing an early-2021 relaunch across six categories including news, companies, and government officials, and asked the public for feedback.
Today's announcement gives that relaunch a hard date — January 21 — and pairs it with two new profile labels for bots and memorial accounts, extending verification from a single badge into a set of distinct identity designations.
First-order effects
Accounts in the six announced categories — news organizations, companies, government officials among them — finally have a path back to a verified badge after a three-year pause, with applications governed by the policy taking effect January 21.
Bot operators and families managing deceased users' accounts get official profile designations for the first time, letting them self-identify rather than leaving authenticity ambiguous.
Second-order effects
Advertisers, journalists, and platform researchers who use the badge as a trust signal gain a richer signal set — but also a new ambiguity problem, as 'verified' no longer means one thing when bots can carry their own legitimate label.
Rival platforms watching Twitter reopen verification face pressure to formalize their own identity programs, since public feedback cycles like Twitter's November request set expectations that identity rules are negotiable in the open.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds — the 2022 tests of phone-number labels and 'Official' designations suggest it does — platform identity moves from one binary checkmark toward layered, labeled tiers of trust, where each account carries multiple authenticity signals rather than a single status.
A tiered identity system also creates new moderation leverage: labels like the bot designation give platforms a principled way to treat automated accounts differently without banning them outright.
The trend: Social platforms are replacing the single verified checkmark with layered, labeled identity tiers — human, organization, bot, memorial — making account authenticity a spectrum rather than a binary.
Thank you for sharing feedback on our verification policy. You helped shape the version that we're sharing today. Check out the specifics of the new policy and how you can apply for verification next year: https://blog.twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/.…
Thanks for your feedback on verification. We're sharing our new policy, information about how to apply for verification in 2021, and other ways we're working to help people understand who they're talking with on Twitter. Learn more: https://blog.twitter.com/... https://twitter.co…
“We'll begin enforcing this policy on January 20, 2021, which is also when we'll begin automatically removing the verified badge from inactive and incomplete accounts.” Ah, an entirely random date that was likely chosen by throwing darts at a calendar. Yep. Nothing to see here. h…
Twitter just shared more details on verification for 2021 and details behind the meeting process / decision. You will be able to apply again starting in January. https://twitter.com/...
Are you seriously putting the burden for notoriety on Wikipedia? A for profit company relying on a non profit encyclopedia who doesn't want your spam? Oh, and it's not we don't know that women or other minorities are well represented in Wikipedia articles https://twitter.com/...
Twitter says that under its new verification policy it may “remove verification from accounts that are found to be in severe or repeated violation of the Twitter Rules...” https://blog.twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
So Twitter is launching a new verification policy that starts January 21. I feel like there's something else going on around then but I just can't put my finger on it. 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
Honestly I think it'd be fun to make all scientists and academics identify as activists or organisers, on Twitter's verification system. Just leave it like that, Twitter https://blog.twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
👀 > Under our policy, we may also remove verification from accounts that are found to be in severe or repeated violation of the Twitter Rules. > We'll begin enforcing this policy on January 20, 2021 https://twitter.com/...
Twitter lunches it's new verification policy Will start enforcing it from Jan 20, 2021 It will also start removing verified badges from inactive and incomplete accounts https://blog.twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...