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Twitter Inc said it has paused its verification programme due to overflow of requests. The platform relaunched this service just a week ago . It said , the service will be resumed soon, and that in the meantime, it will process existing requests.
A verified account on Twitter gets the ‘blue tick badge’ to distinguish accounts that are high profile. Twitter halted the programme in 2017 after facing backlash for attaching a blue tick mark to a white supremacist account that made distressing comments on the platform. The tech firm clarified that it will introduce new guidelines for verification, and will remove blue ticks from accounts that misbehave.
Additionally, the social network introduced new guidelines for verified accounts on the platform, intended to “encourage healthy conversations for the betterment of the Twitter community overall”, the company had said in a statement.
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Users must fit one of six categories to be eligible for verification, including government, companies/organisations, news organisations/journalists, entertainment, sports/gaming, or activists/influential individuals. The company also plans to introduce more categories later in the year, including those for scientists, academics, and religious leaders.
