Nieman Foundation at Harvard
In the next few weeks, Twitter users will be able to apply to have their accounts verified directly in the app, Twitter announced Thursday. They’ll join the 361,000 Twitter users (about 0.1 of the company’s total user base) who are already verified.
To be eligible for verification now, users must fall into one of the following categories — though the company said it will add “more categories later this year, such as those for scientists, academics, and religious leaders.”
About 361,000 Twitter users are verified today..
“Once you submit your application, you can expect an emailed response from us within a few days, but this could take up to a few weeks depending on how many open applications are in our queue,” the announcement says. “If your application is approved, you’ll see the blue badge automatically on your profile. If you think we made a mistake, reapply 30 days after receiving our decision on your application.”
Twitter first launched verified profiles in 2009 as a way to curb imposter accounts of celebrities and other public figures, The Verge noted. The platform then opened up verification to the public in 2016 but suspended it in 2017. Since then, Twitter has been manually verifying users, but the process was often unclear. It started verifying more users in 2020, if they were sharing factual information about the coronavirus pandemic or running for public office.
No one is more excited by this announcement than current and former Twitter employees and social media managers, all of whom are periodically asked to be verified or what the process is to get a blue check.
Read the full announcement here.
Dear “can you verify me” ––
Save your Tweets and DMs, there’s a new official way to apply for a blue badge, rolling out over the next few weeks.
You can now submit an application to request verification in-app, right from your account settings!
-Your verified blue badge source pic.twitter.com/2d1alYZ02M
— Twitter Verified (@verified) May 20, 2021
🆕 Verification is backkkkk! Here’s the latest in terms of who’s eligible and how to apply for it so there’s no need to @ me! 😘https://t.co/D3cYcRSFX5
— Niketa Patel (@Niketa) May 20, 2021
I love you. But please don’t ask me to get verified. Do it your dang self https://t.co/cslmfJ3qsa
— Lara Cohen 💅🏼 (@Larakate) May 20, 2021
If you’ve ever asked me “how do I apply to be verified on Twitter,” here’s how to apply to be verified on Twitter. https://t.co/GM2FG3n4tp
— Eric Zuckerman (@EricZuck) May 20, 2021
The one question I get the most post-Twitter is “how do I get the blue checkmark?” Well, here you go! #verified #bluecheck https://t.co/2gxb6yrrQi
— Kirstine Stewart (@kirstinestewart) May 20, 2021
Want to be verified on Twitter? And do so without asking me? ✔️ out how to below https://t.co/hgEbDEL7MR
— Brian Poliakoff (@brianpoliakoff) May 20, 2021
For the love of God, pls stop asking me to verify you now. https://t.co/G7y8kgdZEL
— Raheel Khursheed (@Raheelk) May 20, 2021
