Popular social media site, Twitter added ‘verified accounts’ as a feature in its beta form back in 2009. It was opened for anyone to apply only in 2016. Since then, any active user on Twitter could get a blue tick by presenting the requisite documentation.
The point of this feature was to indicate a person behind a handle was indeed who they said they were. Instead, it became some sort of a badge of honour – an endorsement about a person from Twitter.
However, the famed ‘blue tick’ has come under severe scrutiny from the social platform’s users. It was sparked by a white supremacist neo-nazi American known to organise an attack getting the blue badge from Twitter. This caused Twitter to temporarily halt all applications for the verified tick and review the existing accounts. They also started amending the existing guidelines for verified account holders.
On November 16th, the company put out a statement explaining that it would de-verify any account found to flout the new norms. In the meantime, several accounts have already been de-verified, some of which have even been suspended.
Such a move from the company comes in the wake of several users complaining about rising incidents of hate mongering and harassment on the platform. Recently, another hash tag campaign #womenboycotttwitter also brought attention to the same issue.
Twitter’s user base, however, is divided on this issue. One section believes the company should indeed recede the badge from profiles that create nuisance or don’t uphold ethical standards. Yet, several others believe that a verification tick should stand for just verifying the identity of a person and have nothing to do with their moral leanings.
Trade experts say, ‘A move like this could spell problems for companies that rely on twitter for digital marketing. Losing the blue tick could see them lose out on existing followers or find it difficult to attract new ones.’
The rules of social media websites will continue to change in the next few years with increasing cases of hate-mongering. Users must be aware of the latest guidelines to make sure they hold on to the famed verification tick!
The post Twitter to remove verified badges for people who flout its new guidelines appeared first on Vikypedia.in.