Twitter has suspended verifying accounts with its coveted blue checkmark again. The microblogging social media company said this is to facilitate improvements to its application and review processes. Twitter said the suspension is only temporary and that people who had applied for verification earlier can hope to get verified in the next few weeks.
“We’ve temporarily hit pause on rolling out access to apply for Verification so we can make improvements to the application and review process,” Twitter stated. “For those who have been waiting, we know this may be disappointing. We want to get things right, and appreciate your patience.”
Twitter made it clear that new applications are paused, but existing applications will be attended to as soon as possible. What this means is that people will not be able to apply for new verifications for the time being, but people who had applied before this time will have their applications assessed in due course. As soon as the suspension is lifted, people will be able to make new applications again to get verified.
This is not the first time that Twitter will be pausing its verification program. It had done so a number of times in the past. In 2017, the company suspended verification after it came under fire for verifying organizers of the Unite The Right campaign rally in Charlottesville. The verification exercise was revamped in 2021 but paused a week later due to overwhelming applicants.
Verification was also paused in July when Twitter erroneously verified six face accounts, with one of them being a cat seated in a bucket and sending out Korean-language spam.
Millions of Twitter users around the world covet to be verified with the blue checkmark badge visible next to their names on their profiles. To many people, a blue badge is a form of global endorsement for authenticity that is important for business and public life. Twitter rejects many applications but verifies some based on their own criteria and those fulfilled by the applicant.