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The media becomes an activist for democracy
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May 20, 2021, 2:28 p.m.
Audience & Social
LINK: blog.twitter.com  ➚   |   Posted by: Hanaa' Tameez   |   May 20, 2021

In the next few weeks, Twitter users will be able to apply to have their accounts verified directly in the app, Twitter announced Thursday. They’ll join the 361,000 Twitter users (about 0.1 of the company’s total user base) who are already verified.

To be eligible for verification now, users must fall into one of the following categories — though the company said it will add “more categories later this year, such as those for scientists, academics, and religious leaders.”

  • Government
  • Companies, brands and organizations
  • News organizations and journalists
  • Entertainment
  • Sports and gaming
  • Activists, organizers, and other influential individuals

About 361,000 Twitter users are verified today..

“Once you submit your application, you can expect an emailed response from us within a few days, but this could take up to a few weeks depending on how many open applications are in our queue,” the announcement says. “If your application is approved, you’ll see the blue badge automatically on your profile. If you think we made a mistake, reapply 30 days after receiving our decision on your application.”

Twitter first launched verified profiles in 2009 as a way to curb imposter accounts of celebrities and other public figures, The Verge noted. The platform then opened up verification to the public in 2016 but suspended it in 2017. Since then, Twitter has been manually verifying users, but the process was often unclear. It started verifying more users in 2020, if they were sharing factual information about the coronavirus pandemic or running for public office.

No one is more excited by this announcement than current and former Twitter employees and social media managers, all of whom are periodically asked to be verified or what the process is to get a blue check.

Read the full announcement here.

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The media becomes an activist for democracy
“We cannot be neutral about this, by definition. A free press that doesn’t agitate for democracy is an oxymoron.”
Embracing influencers as allies
“News organizations will increasingly rely on digital creators not just as amplifiers but as integral partners in storytelling.”
Action over analysis
“We’ve overindexed on problem articulation, to the point of problem admiring. The risk is that we are analyzing ourselves into inaction and irrelevance.”