Twitter Accepts Verification Requests Once Again

After temporarily halting new apps for its revamped verification process last month, Twitter announced that it has "re-implemented access to request a blue badge." The company said it put the new apps on hold to improve "the application flow and review process." That may have something to do with the fake accounts the company accidentally verified in July, but maybe Twitter has now learned from its mistakes.

The company relaunched its verification program with perennial problems in May this year, after it was suspended in 2017. Twitter's verification criteria are that an account must be "authentic, notable and active", but the public perception of the Verification has always been a bit more ambiguous, sparking controversy around the program.

For starters, there are numerous instances of genuinely notable and influential figures that have not been verified, while podunk journalists like myself can stroll up to the verification table and grab a plaque without questions. Meanwhile, some users view verification primarily as an item of prestige, indicating that verified people are somehow better than the mass of gelatinous pond scum that constitutes the unverified (I'm not saying that's wrong, exactly ) and therefore wants to be verified just for her sake. Others see it as a mark of reliability, rather than simply notoriety.

Trying to keep everyone happy has been difficult for Twitter, but its uncoordinated, stop-and-go approach to the entire business isn't helping much. For example, even though Twitter says users can request verification again, its FAQ page still clearly says "There is no way to request verification today" (and it appears that it has not been updated since the beginning of the year).

Anyway, maybe this time Twitter will fix this mess for real. And maybe Charlie Brown will finally kick that soccer ball. Stranger things have happened.