Twitter has announced it is relaunching its verification process, opening the door for anyone to apply.
The coveted blue check mark next to a name indicates an account that has been verified, and it carries a level of trust and authority with it. Unfortunately, the company was less than clear in times past about who could or could not become verified. There were also many instances of the process being abused, with individuals being given verification without good reason.
Twitter is now relaunching the verification process with clearer rules and an invitation for anyone to apply.
“Over the past several months, we’ve been working to bring clarity to the verification eligibility criteria and launched a new policy shaped by public feedback,” according to the company’s blog. “We also started enforcing that policy by automatically removing the verified badge from accounts that no longer meet the updated criteria for verification, such as those that are inactive or incomplete. We’re grateful for all who participated in our public feedback period and shared ideas for how we can improve verification on Twitter.”
While anyone can apply, they must fit within six categories to be approved: government; companies, brand and organizations; news organizations and journalists; entertainment; sports and gaming; and activists, organizers and influential individuals.
The company says the verification application will start showing up in the Account Settings tab over the next few weeks.