When will ‘Verified’ just mean ‘Real Person’?

The reasoning for — and challenges of — expanding online verifications beyond notable figures.

Yesterday, Twitter shared that they would relaunch their verification applications in early 2021. Some time ago, users could request a verified badge, but it was removed. As it’s coming back, Twitter asked users to provide feedback and, in a surprising move, shared the actual language of the policy. Amid all the misinformation of 2020, I was encouraged to see that Twitter was taking a new approach to what it means to be a verified user.

Until I wasn’t.

You see, I was hoping that the days of only verifying celebrities, brands, or people with agents is kinda… web 2.yesterday. And that’s exactly what Twitter’s latest policy essentially boils down to.

In their proposed policy, the word they care about most is ‘Notable.’ To receive a verified badge — both “back then” and today — you need some sort of notoriety. It doesn’t mean you need to be super famous but, I mean, you need to be kinda famous. And, dubiously, that’s still not well defined. There’s no exact threshold to be considered ‘Notable’ and, when it’s that subjective, it’s bound to be perceived as unfair. People have been complaining about why they’re not verified since forever. And that’s still the case: