Twitter pauses blue check mark verification after controversy

Twitter pauses blue check mark verification after controversy

Twitter

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The decision is believed to be a result of criticism the company faced for verifying the handle of Jason Kessler, a far right activist who organised a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, USA, in August.

Micro-blogging website Twitter has 'paused' verification of a handle - a blue tick next to a user’s name - citing confusion over the system.

In a tweet posted on Wednesday, Twitter Support said, "Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon.”

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"We should’ve communicated faster on this (yesterday): our agents have been following our verification policy correctly, but we realized some time ago the system is broken and needs to be reconsidered. And we failed by not doing anything about it. Working now to fix faster,” CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted on Thursday.

The decision is believed to be a result of criticism the company faced for verifying the handle of Jason Kessler, a far right activist who organised a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, USA, in August.

Twitter’s policies say it verifies a user's account who indicate it’s in public interest by submitting an online form which contains their email ID, phone number, a website link and a biography.

The blue tick next to a user’s name gives him/her authenticity.