Twitter updates verification process after verifying Nazi

A picture of Twitter's official Twitter account, complete with verified checkmark.

Twitter landed itself in hot water last week after verifying a known US white supremacist — and now it’s trying (again) to allay criticisms of its complicity in the rise of global nationalism.

Twitter’s first response was that it didn’t realise verification status was being used as an “indicator of endorsement” and that it was merely a form of identification.

The public refuted this claim, arguing that if that were true, the company would verify everyone who could prove their identity with a driver’s license or passport.

Now, the company has paused all verifications, and is “working on a new authentication and verification program”.

This change is accompanied by a new set of guidelines that allows Twitter to remove verification based on behaviour.

Unacceptable behaviour includes intentionally misleading others by changing display names or bios, promoting hate against protected groups, harassing other users, encouraging violence, or breaking Twitter’s rules in general.

Twitter has not yet given a date as to when verification will be back up, so whether the update will act as a plaster over a bullet hole remains to be seen.

Feature image: Memeburn

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