Twitter has confirmed it now has seven verification categories, just over a month since Liam O’Dell first contacted the social media platform about the reported changes.
Under the previous verification process, Twitter users could apply for a blue tick as either a government official; a news organisation or individual; a company, brand or organisation; an entertainment personality; a sports and gaming account; or an activist, organiser, or other influential individual.
The latest update, reported by this website in late December, sees the activist category split into two separate categories: ‘activists and organisers’ and ‘content creators and other influential individuals’. Specific information for freelance journalists has also been added under the ‘news organisation or individual’ category.
However, for both content creators and activists in the UK and US, the controversial 100,000 follower target remains.
According to Twitter, the platform is “always trying to make our categories more accurate and helpful for people”, with the two new categories created because “there were minor differences in the requirements for verification within each category type” and it “wanted to be able to differentiate between activists from other types of notable accounts”.
They also confirmed to Liam O’Dell that the update was announced on Twitter on 17 December.
Elsewhere, Twitter revealed it had added a requirement for accounts to be public in order to apply for verification, added further information in the ‘government’ category and expanded upon what constitutes a loss of a blue tick on a verified account.
One new change reads: “Twitter reserves the right to assess the qualifications of any Verified account under the currently published version of the Verification Policy.”
The latest Help Center article also adds that a tick will be removed if changes “are misleading or substantially alter the persona present on your account […] result in failure to meet the eligibility requirements for verification [… or] cause you to fall under any of the categories in the ‘ineligible accounts’ section”.
It goes on to stress the platform “does not sell the blue verification badge” and an employee “will never request financial compensation in exchange for a badge or as part of the application process”.
“Twitter does not authorize any external agents or individuals to sell Verification on the platform. We encourage people to directly apply through the Verification application process available in the Twitter app. Individuals offering to buy or sell Verification are subject to loss of Verified status and permanent suspension from the platform,” it reads.
The up-to-date verification policy can be found on Twitter’s Help Center.
Liam O'Dell 