Twitter Verification Requests Are On Hold Again

Twitter has once again put verification requests on hold, only a week since it began taking blue check applications again. Users with a claim on notoriety – whether by virtue of their role as an activist or influencer, journalist, or professional athlete – will now have to be patient once again before they can request the coveted blue badge, though this time around the social network says the wait will be a little shorter.

"We're rolling in verification requests," Twitter's Verified account said this afternoon. "So we gotta hit pause on accepting any more for now while we review the ones that have been submitted. We'll reopen requests soon! (we pinky swear)."

Verification has been one of the least-understood elements of life on Twitter since the blue checkmarks first began appearing. Initially, the rules by which the company decided who was worthy of the badge were pretty clandestine, though over time it explained a little more about its policies. Generally, the mark is designed to indicate that a person is who they claim to be, helping avoid fake accounts from being taken seriously.

However the way verification was managed had confused that process. Some users had their checkmarks removed after breaking Twitter rules, for example, leading to suggestions that the system was as much punitive as it was about validating authenticity. With fake news rising exponentially, Twitter opted to put verification requests on hold about three years ago.

When the system returned, it was with a little extra transparency. Those requesting the badge must now fall into one of six general categories:

Government

Companies, brands and organizations

News organizations and journalists

Entertainment

Sports and gaming

Activists, organizers, and other influential individuals

However, they must also have a complete profile, with a name, image, and either a confirmed phone number or email address. Twitter may request a copy of government-issued ID to verify identity, and users wanting to be verified need to have been active on the site within the past six months. Beyond that, though, there are also requirements around behavior on Twitter.

If, for instance, you were punished with a 12 hour or 7 day lockout within the past 12 months for violating Twitter's rules, you won't be able to get verified.

Twitter was progressively adding the application option to user accounts after announcing it was reopening for verification requests. Now, they'll be disappearing again as it works through this new backlog. No word at this stage on when, exactly, it'll be activating that again.