Twitter might never be able to verify accounts.
Friday's announcement by Twitter was that account verification would be halted once more. This is the process through which accounts belonging to notable or famous people can receive a blue checkmark badge. While existing applications will be reviewed, anyone who wants to verify their account on Twitter but has not yet done so will need to wait until applications are accepted again.
Although Twitter didn't give any specific reasons, other than a call to improve the process of verification, it is easy to see if you have been following along recently. Twitter verified a fake account that claimed to be Cormac McCarthy, as well as a few fraudulent bot accounts over the course of the month. These incidents questioned Twitter's May 2012 relaunched application process. (Even after the lengthy verification pause, though, some people, such as CEO Jack Dorsey and Whitesnake's mom, still received a blue check.
Twitter's new verification process was temporarily suspended a week after it launched due to high volumes of requests. This is not to mention the main reason it needed to be relaunched: In 2017, Twitter's old verification mechanism had bestowed a badge on a prominent white supremacist.
It's been a difficult road for a feature that was merely meant to stop fake accounts being created by famous people. Twitter is now more transparent than ever about who it approves, but it must also address the flood of fakers and manage it. While there may not be the perfect solution, it is important that one doesn't allow people to impersonate Cormac McCarthy.
