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I never called myself a journalist, until Twitter made me. I’m a lawyer, activist, and teacher member, but I only got one of the most verified assets on social media using the “journalist” tag, that “verified” blue mark. My efforts for months to verify this have revealed a system against grassroots entrepreneurs, especially BIPOC communities.
Twitter has re-launched its verification program in May. Was has paused Since 2017, after a check reaction leader of deadly white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Of course, Twitter should not normalize Nazi content. But after almost four years of review, the labyrinthine solution they have chosen is very worrying. The new system will not only stop major hatemongers from gaining verification, it will also exclude many target BIPOC communities.
Under New Twitter criteria, verified accounts must be “genuine, relevant, and active.” Proving “authenticity” is as simple as using an official email account, and just using your “activities” name, profile picture, and your account every six months. It’s a “remarkable” question of where things are going from the rails.
In the case of elected officials, anyone with a government website is classified. Journalists have even more flexibility. Employee reporters can link to the profile on the newspaper’s website, and self-employed people can also submit three citations from the last six months. This is a very low bar, as many freelancers publish more than three articles in a single week.
As for entrepreneurs and organizers, Twitter’s rules are suddenly changing. Some demands cannot be denied, such as the exclusion of accounts that primarily perpetuate racial or religious persecution, as well as groups that promote white supremacy. Perfect! But that’s just the first step.
Entrepreneurs will then have to meet a number of requirements, such as proving that we are in the best 0.05% of users in a region or that we have created a popular hashtag. We also need to have a Wikipedia page, a Google trends profile, or a number of “media references mentioned”. What is it as a “feature”? Twitter never says that. Twitter did not respond to requests for comment.
When I applied to Twitter to be verified as an activist, I expressed my leadership STOP, an internationally recognized privacy group. However, two decades of anti-police activism, hundreds of protests and thousands of published citations, I was immediately denied. Over the course of a month, I included some of my latest posts, and voila, verification. I’m privileged to have enough opinion articles to be a “journalist,” but many entrepreneurs aren’t so lucky.
This standard will make it impossible except for the most reputable activist. Many people who reshaped the national debate on racism and police violence are once again told that their voices don’t matter.
When Angela Lang, founder and executive director of the Milwaukee-based citizen engagement group BLOCK, he decided to get a check mark, “I’ve done enough. Let’s see how to check it.” Although Lang and Bloc acknowledged their work on citizen engagement at the national level, it remained closed. When Detroit activist and National Director of Data 4 Black Lives organizer Tawana Petty was introduced, his request was immediately denied. Published on the platform, which declined to be verified, Petty said: “It would also be a condition to create an unbelievable popular hashtag. This process completely loses the reason why so many of us want to check it out.” Petty told me “I still live with the concern that my page will be duplicated and my contacts will be spam.” Previously, they were forced to close the pages of other social media platforms to protect their loved ones from this abuse.
According to the anti-racist economist Kim Crayton, verification is important “this blue check automatically means that it is valid and without it, especially if you are on the front lines, especially if you are a black woman, it challenges you.” As Lang says, “having that verification is another way to raise those voices as trusted messengers.” Virginia Eubanks, associate professor of political science at the University of Albany, SUNY and author Automate difference, “The blue check is not about social assertion – it’s a security issue … Someone who clones my account can leave my family or friends vulnerable … and leave potential sources open for manipulation.
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