Twitter pauses verification requests after verifying a white supremacist
Hoping to get verified on Twitter? Don't bother trying right now.
Twitter is pausing all general verification requests, the company announced Thursday. The decision comes days after Twitter verified Jason Kessler, the organizer of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville that resulted in the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer.
That move was seen by some as an endorsement of white supremacy. "Twitter is directly enabling white supremacy and white nationalist ideology," wrote The Root's Monique Judge.
Twitter has argued that isn't the case. Verification, similar to the badge on Facebook and Instagram, is intended to show people who's real versus an unconfirmed account that could be a parody or imposter account.
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For example, @chancetherapper is verified while there are dozens of parody accounts that even include his same profile picture and slight changes from his handle.
But, like many features of the internet and things in life, Twitter's user base has decided it signals something else. Leslie Miley, former Twitter engineer, tweeted his disappointment in the company verifying Kessler.
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged Thursday that the system "is broken."
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Twitter's general manager of consumer product and engineering group Ed Ho even admitted that his company identified its verification policy as an issue earlier this year and should have addressed the problem sooner.
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He also said Twitter should have said something Wednesday, as the backlash began, rather than wait on Thursday.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how they will fix the problem, but Twitter users are sharing their suggestions.
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Topics Activism Social Media X/Twitter
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
