Since Twitter temporarily placed their blue tick ‘verification program’ on hold, mystery has shrouded this social media symbol of ‘legitimacy’. Everyone from UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson to self-proclaimed “triggered-feminist” Peter Lloyd are seen as verified accounts.
But who should decide which Twitter accounts have access to this special status? And should verified accounts exist at all?
Buzzfeed’s senior reporter, Ryan Broderick thinks they’re igniting a storm:
To reach the bottom of this issue, we spoke with MEL Magazine’s Europe Editor, Hussein Kesvani, whose status as a Twitter Yoda has seen him publish ‘Follow me Akhi’. We also heard from Social Media Commentator, Matt Navarra, who previously worked for the UK Government.
They give Interhacktives the low-down on the blue tick.
Interhacktives: How did you get a blue tick on your Twitter profile?
Hussein Kesvani: I started working at Buzzfeed in 2015, and staff writers and reporters were encouraged to get verified. I had to fill out a spreadsheet and I got the blue tick a few months after.
Matt Navarra: I was working for a well-known technology news media publisher between 2013-2018. At that time, Twitter was actively encouraging newsrooms to get their journalists, and some limited other groups in the newsroom, verified. We submitted our request for a list of people to be verified and a few days later they were approved for verification.
How do you feel people perceive you compared to someone without a blue tick?
Hussein: It’s changed over time. I think back in 2015, it was such a big deal – it kind of made you feel more authoritative, which, as a journalist, was really important when you want to get taken seriously. I think to a degree people still view the blue tick as someone who commands a particular form of authority in their field, or has a particular expertise, so these days people actually get angry whenever I tweet a joke, or some dumb stuff out because they don’t associate it with “blue tick behaviour”. I actually have a lot of trolls, and even well meaning people who I don’t politically align with, who say that I either paid twitter to give me a blue tick, or that I don’t deserve one.
Matt: I suspect there are some who may assume I am more important or noteworthy than I really am. Then there are others who probably don’t like the blue tick of verification and what it stands for, for a whole range of reasons. But most people probably sit somewhere in the middle and hold no significant opinion about me due to my account being verified.
Is it possible to get a blue tick revoked?
Hussein: Didn’t Tommy Robinson have his removed when he was on here? I also think it can go if you change the email address, the blue check was assigned to, so its still attached to my old Buzzfeed email address, even though the email has been deactivated for some time.
Matt: Yes. Somewhere in Twitter’s policy docs and Terms of Service it no doubt outlines the reasons they may remove a blue tick from an account. If you change your @name and/or other key profile information, verification is automatically removed. I’m sure any number of serious misdemeanours could lead to removal of verification from a profile.
What makes someone ‘worthy’ of a blue tick?
Hussein: Honestly I don’t even know – the blue tick was meant to be a way of saying a well known person is legit – i.e. a celebrity. I really don’t think blue ticks are necessary when we’re talking about journalists, or anyone that works inside the media industry. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that most celebrities see the twitter blue check as a verification mark, but for media people, and people who are very online, it seems to represent a status symbol — that your tweets are taken more seriously, that the algorithm prioritises your thoughts. So it’s become an elitist symbol in many regards that defeats the initial purpose.
Matt: That’s a question for Twitter. In fact, this is where the tension lies between Twitter and its users. The sometimes inconsistent application of verification remains a contentious issue. Twitter has had to explain its use of verification on many occasions. Currently, Twitter is re-evaluating its verification setup and last year it advertised for a new role to lead its efforts on re-developing its verification process. I would not want to be responsible for deciding a criteria for verification.
What are your thoughts on the Blue Tick as a symbol?
Hussein: A lot of people have them, and I’m always surprised how some with blue ticks / checks criticise others as “checkmarks” etc. It’s actually close to a cultural symbol I suppose. It’s kind of how Trump is a really rich New York guy, but he was able to distance himself from people who were in the same economic situation as him, but had more liberal politics. People can project whatever they want onto the blue tick –– whether that’s smarmyness or arrogance, to a particular form of liberal, social justice driven politics. It’s also a great way to rally trolls with small followings into thinking theyre fighting a wider cultural battle against media elites online.
Your thoughts on blue ticks and Twitter trolls:
Hussein: I’d also say that because you can @ someone directly with a blue tick, that notion of a battle becomes more direct and obvious, especially if they respond. It’s like a “hey this guy who twitter thinks is high status is easily provoked and has thin skin”
If you liked this investigation on Twitter, check out our article on the strange case of J.K Rowling and wings over Scotland.