Blue tick up for grabs as Twitter resumes verification process after brief halt

Twitter has resumed the verification process for the blue tick or badge. A tweet from Twitter on June 1 had mentioned that they have once again opened up and the full-fledged verifications process will commence.

The application process, which had begun on May 20 after a gap of over three years, was paused abruptly last week. Twitter, while pausing the process, had promised to resume it soon.

Twitter had suspended the original model in 2017, saying it was being confused as an endorsement. Twitter adds a blue badge to profiles that are verified. The new verification application process is available to all users. The applicant’s profile is subject to scrutiny and as per Twitter, the profile "must be authentic, notable, and active" for eligibility though it slightly differs based on the profession or line of work one is in.

Twitter has classified six categories for aspirants: The profile of the user should be government; companies, brands, and organisations; news organisations and journalists; entertainment; sports and gaming; and activists, organisers, and other influential individuals.

As per the new verification policy which Twitter has been working on since November 2020 after getting constant feedback from the public, the ‘News’ category will now include ‘News and Journalists,’ ‘Sports’ category will include ‘Sports and e-sports’ while the ‘Entertainment’ category will now also include digital content creators.

Furthermore, the minimum followers count requirement on a per-country basis has also been revised and will now be based on a per-region basis "to make follower count requirements less susceptible to spam and more equitable across geographies," Twitter said.

Acknowledging that the six categories are not sufficient and a lot more work has to be undertaken to make it more comprehensive, they have hinted at an upcoming change that will allow people to better express themselves, such as through an About page. "We’ll share more on all of this soon!" they said in the blog.

Twitter will start showing the blue badge on your profile if the application is approved. One can reapply 30 days after being denied the badge.