Twitter Will Yank Verification For Bad Behavior Offline As Well

Twitter found itself in a pickle recently after it verified white supremacist Jason Kessler. There was backlash from the community which forced Twitter to suspend the verification system and come up with new guidelines to prevent the implication that people like these were being endorsed by the microblogging service. Twitter’s new verification guidelines now mention that users can lose their verification status on the microblogging network for bad behavior off Twitter as well.

Twitter made some changes a couple of days ago and started removing verified badges from some accounts. This included Kessler and other white nationalists.

The company has since posted its updated verification guidelines which mention that “Twitter reserves the right to remove verification at any time without notice,” adding that “reasons for removal may reflect behaviors on and off Twitter.”

Offline behaviors such as inciting or engaging in harassment of others, promoting hate/or violence against other people on basis of race, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, and more can result in yanking of a Twitter user’s verified status.

It’s easier for Twitter to police user behavior on its platform but it’s unclear just how the company intends to do that offline. It’s also unclear how actively Twitter will be searching for users who violate these new guidelines.

Whether or not this aggressive policing by Twitter will backfire at some point in the future remains to be seen.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Web
Tags: Twitter