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Concept
Twitter Blue verification controversy
Summary
On April 20, 2023, Twitter began removing verification status for notable individuals, causing a controversy among Twitter users. The website's system altered, making verification require payment, an act which saw much criticism.
Twitter verification
In May 2009, then-manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Tony La Russa, sued Twitter after an account on the service began impersonating him, alleging that Twitter abetted in defaming his likeness. The lawsuit included the feed of @TonyLaRussa, a Twitter account not owned by La Russa, with the first tweet in the feed referencing the deaths of Cardinals pitchers Darryl Kile and Josh Hancock. In response, Twitter introduced a verification system known as "Verified Accounts", and settled the lawsuit with La Russa. In a blog post titled, "Not Playing Ball", then-CEO Biz Stone wrote that Twitter "[recognizes] an opportunity to improve [its] user experience". The blog post provides an image of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s emergency account with a verification checkmark beside its name while naming other institutions and people that could receive the checkmark, such as well-known artists and athletes. Within days, notable individuals such as actor Ashton Kutcher and talk show host Oprah Winfrey received a blue checkmark.
In 2010, Twitter opened up verification to all users, but shut down public verification after it became inundated with requests. According to Andy Cohn, who attempted to get the Twitter account for The Fader verified in 2012, only accounts who faced repeated impersonation attempts or those who spent at least on advertisements in the last three months were eligible for verification; an impersonator of Wendi Deng Murdoch—then businessman Rupert Murdoch's wife—was able to get verified regardless. Twitter opened up verification to all users once again in July 2016, but reserved that "verification does not equal endorsement".
In November 2016, Twitter suspended prominent white nationalist Richard B. Spencer from the platform, along with several other alt-right figures.
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