One of the problems with a relatively open platform such as Twitter is impersonation. I can claim to be somebody else, upload their picture to my profile and tweet away. This is particularly problematic for public figures and businesses but anyone can be subject to impersonation. Years ago, Twitter decided that it would “verify” some accounts.
While a good idea in principle, Twitter’s implementation, sowed the seeds of the current mess. First, Twitter chose to go with a heavily designed checkmark that looks like a badge. Second, this badge appeared not just on a person’s profile but prominently in all timeline views as well. Third, the rollout appeared geared towards Twitter users who were somehow cool or in-the-know. Fourth, Twitter seemingly randomly rejected some verification requests while accepting others.
The net result of all of these mistakes was that the verified checkmark became an “official Twitter” badge. Instead of simply indicating something about the account’s identity it became a stamp of approval. Twitter doubled down on that meaning when it removed the “verified” check from some accounts over their contents, most notably in January of 2016 with Milo Yiannopoulos.
Just now Twitter has announced a further doubling down on this ridiculously untenable position. Twitter will now deverify accounts that violate its harassment rules. This is a terrible idea for two reasons: First, it puts Twitter deeper into content policing in a way that’s completely unmanageable (e.g., what about the account of someone who is well behaved on Twitter but awful off-Twitter?). Second, it defeats the original purpose of verification. Is an account not verified because it is an impostor or because Twitter deverified it?
What should Twitter have done instead? Here is what I believe a reasonable approach would have been. First, instead of a beautifully designed batch, have a simple “Verified” text on a person’s profile. Second, do not include this in timeline views. It is super easy from any tweet to click through to the profile of the account. Third, link the “verified” text in the profile to some information such as the date of the verification and its basis. For instance, “Albert Wenger - verified October 11, 2012 based on submitted documents.”
This type of identity-only verification would be quite scalable using third party services that Twitter could contract for (and users could pay for if necessary to help defray cost). Twitter could also allow users to bring their own identity to the service including from decentralized systems such as Blockstack. It would also make it easy for people to report an account strictly for impersonation. Harassment on platform is a real problem, but it is a separate problem and one that should be addressed by different means.
