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> It does not simply mean "this person is who they say they are" and never has. I was under the same impression that OP was, so I looked up the verified accoun

> It does not simply mean "this person is who they say they are" and never has. I was under the same impression that OP was, so I looked up the verified account announcement from the Twitter in 2009[1]: "To prevent identity confusion, Twitter is experimenting (beta testing) with a 'Verified Account' feature. We're working to establish authenticity with people who deal with impersonation or identity confusion on a regular basis." [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20090615114316/http://twitter.com/help/verified https://web.archive.org/web/20090615114316/http://twitter.co...

ben1040 9y ago
Meanwhile when they opened up the application process for anyone to request verification, they made the implication that a verified account was a "high quality" account you might want to follow. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/twitter-announces-application-process-for-verified-accounts-300300831.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/twitter-announces-a... >We hope opening up this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow This seems to be where the line started blurring between "this is who they say they are" and "this account is an asset to our platform."
- Crontab 9y ago
  Oh, without a doubt, it has morphed over time. It probably should be called something else now. But to say it was never about identity is false.
- acangiano 9y ago
  Case in point, Assange is not verified.
just2n 9y ago
It's interesting seeing tons of "journalists" who aren't well known, of public interest, or in any way prominent being given this status. Specifically if you're a new journalist straight out of school for certain publications, have penned maybe a few articles which nobody has read, and have a Twitter account with a few hundred followers if that (most likely friends/family and acquaintances), apparently this badge is warranted, because a LOT of people matching that description have it. It clearly doesn't follow from any need to be correctly identified, your "credibility" on anything, whether Twitter necessarily endorses you, whether you're being promoted, or whatever reason anyone claims. Tim Pool recounted how his account got verified a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67nFNUPQaeI&t=1m25s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67nFNUPQaeI&t=1m25s. TL;DW: His employer, VICE, instructed Twitter to verify him, and they did. Ultimately that's what this badge comes down to: for most people it's a mark of being on the inside, knowing the right people. The right agency, the right employer, maybe just having a friend working at Twitter. There are some other certain criteria that aren't publicized, and they have in the past randomly given it out to "high profile" people on Twitter, even though that seems to be totally random as well. This is a special club, Twitter has on and off said it means many things, but there's no consistency. Just like there's no consistency with how they enforce their rules, there's no consistency with this special privilege either.
- rtpg 9y ago
  You say there's no consistency, but you've just stated the consistent rule. Twitter gives the status to people who have good connections to Twitter. Given we all agree on this being the actual state of things, getting mad at them for giving this status to white nationalists makes complete sense. Twitter is boosting these people with this verification process that serves to boost their friends. If we think that the blue checkmark makes you belong to the country club, who you let in is a signifier of Twitter's beliefs.
jackweirdy 9y ago
The purpose of and process around Verified status has changed a lot since 2009

ben1040 9y ago

Meanwhile when they opened up the application process for anyone to request verification, they made the implication that a verified account was a "high quality" account you might want to follow. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/twitter-announces-application-process-for-verified-accounts-300300831.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/twitter-announces-a... >We hope opening up this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow This seems to be where the line started blurring between "this is who they say they are" and "this account is an asset to our platform."

Crontab 9y ago
Oh, without a doubt, it has morphed over time. It probably should be called something else now. But to say it was never about identity is false.
acangiano 9y ago
Case in point, Assange is not verified.

just2n 9y ago

It's interesting seeing tons of "journalists" who aren't well known, of public interest, or in any way prominent being given this status. Specifically if you're a new journalist straight out of school for certain publications, have penned maybe a few articles which nobody has read, and have a Twitter account with a few hundred followers if that (most likely friends/family and acquaintances), apparently this badge is warranted, because a LOT of people matching that description have it. It clearly doesn't follow from any need to be correctly identified, your "credibility" on anything, whether Twitter necessarily endorses you, whether you're being promoted, or whatever reason anyone claims. Tim Pool recounted how his account got verified a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67nFNUPQaeI&t=1m25s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67nFNUPQaeI&t=1m25s. TL;DW: His employer, VICE, instructed Twitter to verify him, and they did. Ultimately that's what this badge comes down to: for most people it's a mark of being on the inside, knowing the right people. The right agency, the right employer, maybe just having a friend working at Twitter. There are some other certain criteria that aren't publicized, and they have in the past randomly given it out to "high profile" people on Twitter, even though that seems to be totally random as well. This is a special club, Twitter has on and off said it means many things, but there's no consistency. Just like there's no consistency with how they enforce their rules, there's no consistency with this special privilege either.

rtpg 9y ago
You say there's no consistency, but you've just stated the consistent rule. Twitter gives the status to people who have good connections to Twitter. Given we all agree on this being the actual state of things, getting mad at them for giving this status to white nationalists makes complete sense. Twitter is boosting these people with this verification process that serves to boost their friends. If we think that the blue checkmark makes you belong to the country club, who you let in is a signifier of Twitter's beliefs.

jackweirdy 9y ago

The purpose of and process around Verified status has changed a lot since 2009