What does check mark mean on twitter

This time around, Twitter isn't looking to just create a better process for verifying that you are who you say you are.

In theory, that would make the vast majority of accounts eligible for verification. As long as you can prove you are who you say you are, you should be able to have a blue check mark next to your name, right?

That's not Twitter's goal, however. To give a little context, Twitter talks about verification as a way to " protect the public conversation. The badge is one of the ways we help people distinguish the authenticity of accounts that are of high public interest. It gives people on Twitter more context about who they're having conversations with so they can determine if it's trustworthy, which our research has shown leads to healthier, more informed conversations.

The idea is that if you see a tweet in your timeline about a particular subject, it's helpful to know whether the person is a reliable source on that subject.

For example, if you see a tweet from your favorite baseball team that they're giving away a bobble head to the first 1, people through the gate, it would be nice to know if that actually came from the team and not some elaborate troll.

Victor Luckerson : I mean, it makes me feel better about using Twitter, but I am a person who writes things on the internet for money in the hopes that other people will read them, which means I am in a battle against my own narcissism at all times. Alyssa Bereznak : The purpose of the blue check mark has always been pretty vague. I would say that most people on the social network see it similarly.

Justin Charity : It makes Twitter better for verified users in marginal ways that remain mysterious to nonverified users. Bereznak: Before we go any further, I just want to say that William Shatner warned us about this.

Would that help the situation? Bereznak: I agree that the process seems daunting, but I do think there could be a tier system. NextDoor does this. The blue check can still be the ego stroker. Knibbs: They can at least stop verifying white supremacists, though. Sounds hard. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Politics Covid U. News World Opinion Business. Share this —. Twitter's official rules leave room for fans and fun, but they take a dim view of fakes.

You can set up a Twitter account that pokes fun at a famous person and tweets things she might have said in a parallel universe. Fan accounts, devoted to promoting and praising the work and world of an individual star, abound on Twitter under that same policy. If you step across the line that divides fans and followers from fraudulent impersonators, however, expect Twitter to shut down your account.

Its rules clearly require that commentary and parody accounts identify themselves as unofficial. If you're following Mr. Big Stuff on an account that lacks the all-important little blue badge, you may be following another fan, not the actor, comedian, quarterback, tech influencer or politician.