Want a Blue Check Mark From Twitter? Here's Your Chance

Platform's verification process for coveted badge is back
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 21, 2021 10:20 AM CDT
Twitter Is Doling Out Blue Check Marks Again
The Twitter logo is seen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 17, 2016.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

For more than three years, Twitter users hoping to receive a coveted blue check mark—a symbol that indicates that "an account of public interest is authentic," per the platform—have been in a holding pattern. That changed on Thursday, when the site reopened its verification process for the first time since 2017, reports Fast Company. To qualify, users' accounts must be "authentic" and "active" and fall within one of six categories: government; entertainment; news groups and journalists; sports; companies, brands, and nonprofits; and activists, organizers, and other influential individuals. The New York Times notes the verification process officially shut down in November 2017, when the site faced criticism for blue-checking the account of white supremacist Jason Kessler. Although the check mark was designed to verify an account's authenticity, confusion arose over whether it indicated some kind of Twitter endorsement.

Twitter shuttered the process to hash out how to best verify accounts, continuing to quietly do so behind the scenes for a limited number of notables. If you get the green light from the relaunched verification process, which could take a few weeks, the blue check mark will show up automatically on your profile. If you don't make the cut this time around, you can reapply every 30 days, if you feel your situation has changed so that you now meet the criteria. Meanwhile, those who've already got the blue badge of honor don't have to do anything to keep their current status intact. In case you're worried your entry will get passed over by unseeing, uncaring bots, Twitter also noted this week that all applications will be reviewed by actual humans, reports the Verge. One thing the platform doesn't want you to do while you're waiting: tweet "can you verify me" at the folks handling the verification process. Think you qualify? Click here to get started. (More Twitter stories.)

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