Months after it brought it’s verification process back to life, Twitter Inc. on Tuesday said that a handful of fake accounts which were verified by mistake, have now been suspended permanently.
Back in May, the social media giant had announced that it would be reopening the application process which allows users to make submissions for getting their accounts verified, effectively putting a years-long drought to end. If you are confused about what getting “verified” means, it refers to the small blue tick that can be seen on the Twitter accounts of public figures and celebrities.
A statement made by a spokesperson for the company read, “We mistakenly approved the verification applications of a small number of inauthentic (fake) accounts,” while adding, “We have now permanently suspended the accounts in question, and removed their verified badge, under our platform manipulation and spam policy.”
The application process had been put to rest back in 2017, after users accused it of being “confusing”, “arbitrary”, and an “endorsement or an indicator of importance.” Bringing it back this year, Twitter laid down some ground rules. Users who apply for getting the coveted blue tick should have been active on the platform for at least six months, and should fit one of a number of categories: news outlets and journalists, sports and gaming, entertainment, government, brands and organizations, companies, organizers, activists, and other influential individuals.
The incorrect verification blunder was brought to light when data scientist Conspirador Norteño revealed that six accounts on the platform, each of which had been verified, had not made a single post since their inception on June 16, and had mostly the same followers, whose accounts had been created between June 19 and 20. Two of these accounts were also using fake profile pictures, it is said. The researcher says that the common followers were actually part of a botnet, comprising no less than 1,212 accounts.
Following the incident, Twitter took down five of the six accounts, while the sixth account was apparently removed of its own accord.
It is not clear how the fake accounts managed to get their hands on the blue badge, and experts also point out that any rectifying action was taken only once Norteño had reported the discrepancy. Only last week, Twitter announced that it would start providing more information through mails to users whose verification applications are rejected, as many have expressed dissatisfaction over the inadequacy of the information provided about the same.
