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"

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."