Twitter’s verified status is a power that must be controlled

Twitter holds a power that is similar to what only magazine publishers and TV networks once controlled. Unlike their predecessors, however, the company has made little effort to be responsible with its newfound influence.   

There was a time when being featured on the cover of a magazine meant you made it big. Now achieving the blue checkmark next to your Twitter profile means you are an icon. So it’s striking that Twitter would verify white supremacists, because that essentially asserts that they are top-tier celebrities.

{mosads}Twitter doesn’t see it that way of course. In a tweet from Twitter, the company said, “Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance.”

Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 9, 2017

The tweet then continued to say, “We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon.”

That in a nutshell is the problem; no one, including Twitter, has a clear understanding of what it takes to become verified.

When Twitter verifies mega-influencers like Taylor Swift, LeBron James, and Speaker Paul Ryan, then the action of verifying white supremacists like Richard Spencer elevates him to that level of prominence. In a time when digital currency is power — Twitter made Spencer a wealthy man.

After pressure from the public and influential users, Twitter came to realize that its laissez faire approach to verification was not helping its public image. Spencer, along with several other white nationalists, lost their verified status.

While this was the right move for Twitter to make, it’s not to say that Spencer or any other provocateur should not be allowed to use the platform. As long as they are abiding by Twitter’s conduct policies (which are somewhat ambiguous, too), then saying ignorant, vitriolic, and disturbing speech should be protected. Hey, this is America — you are as free as you want to be to show how ugly you are.

However, earning the Twitter badge is not a constitutional right, and whether Twitter likes it or not, it has come to represent something powerful in our culture.

Twitter, like Facebook, has often claimed that it is a service provider. These platforms assert that they are technology companies and not media companies.

Whether that’s the case or not, it doesn’t change that social media has been integrated into the entire media ecosystem. Entertainment, music, news, politics, and other aspects of pop culture now live in that space.

In old media, like print publications and TV and radio airwaves, the provider of the content decided who was an important voice by deciding who would be featured. Fair or not, in the digital age Twitter has become that provider of content, and the public perceives those who are verified as noteworthy people.

And maybe Twitter does believe that extremists should be considered cultural icons. If that is the case, Twitter, like other media companies, are private companies and are free to make the editorial decisions as to whom they want to authenticate as a person of public interest. But it’s not enough for Twitter to avoid the issue all together; it has become too meaningful in our public discourse for that.

Twitter has recently taken steps to address the outrage over the verified fiasco. Besides removing verified status from several users, it has updated its verified accounts policy. As an interesting side note, the policies now make it clear that you can lose your verification if you break Twitter’s conduct for verified status — even if the action takes place off of Twitter.

The truth is this is not an easy problem to fix, and there is more nuance to the debate than what was just laid out in this article. There are plenty of fine lines involved in the situation, and it is unreasonable to think Twitter should get it right every time. Mistakes will be made, and no solution will appease everyone.

As it stands now, though, the Twitter verification system is broken. So until Twitter can harness its power and figure out how to best use it, that little blue checkmark will continue to do its damage.

Adam Chiara is an assistant professor of communication at the University of Hartford. He has worked as a legislative aide in the Connecticut General Assembly, as a journalist, and as a public relations practitioner. He’s on Twitter at @AdamChiara.