What is Twitter Verification (or Twitter Verification)? Date.

Now Elon Musk has finished the file $44 billion purchaseTwitter blue profile badges are available for $8 to $20 per month.

But why is this blue badge even necessary? It has a lot to do both with the 7-foot-1 NBA star and the mysterious world of online identities.

Shaquille Oleal, one of the first celebrities who impersonated themselves on Twitter, joined the platform in November 2008. He claimed that he created an account because someone was impersonating his. Biz Stone, one the founders of Twitter at the time, stated that it was a “first celebrity to impersonate themselves on Twitter”. New York timesIt was discovered that the company was trying to verify accounts. The fake Shaq account was the first celebrity impersonation the company had heard of.

Fake accounts spread on the site, even those of the actor. Ewan McGregorThe TV menu Robert H. schooler. The company announced a turnaround in June 2009.

In June 2009, Mr. Stone wrote Blog postTwitter was testing “verified accounts” He also explained the company’s position in a suit related to an impersonation, leading some to give credit to Tony La Russa, who was behind the lawsuit.

Mr. La Rosa was the Director of St. Louis Cardinals. File a lawsuit against TwitterHe claimed that someone had created an account under his name and was using it for offensive comments. This caused him emotional distress. These comments seemed like they were shedding light on the deaths and injuries of Cardinals’ players. Josh HancockThen there’s the Daryl Kelly.

Stone denied that the lawsuit was settled in a blog post in June. Stone claimed that Twitter had suspended, deleted, or transferred control over accounts that were known for impersonating people, including one owned by Mr La Rosa.

“We already recognize an opportunity to improve the Twitter user experience and clear up confusion that goes beyond removing impersonation accounts just by alerting them,” Mr. Stone said in the blog post.

The “verified accounts trial” was then explained by him, stating that it would begin with people at high risk of impersonation, such as politicians and celebrities, and go on to public agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Not include companies, unlike now.

In the early days, the icon that indicated that an account had been verified looked essentially the same as it does today: A blue badge with a white checkmark. It was called the “Verification Seal” by Mr. Stone.

At the end of June 2009 Mr. La Rosa was is overHis claim. He is. EnergeticOn Twitter, he promotes his Animal Rescue Foundation and comments about baseball. Mr. La Russa has resigned as Director of Chicago White Sox Last monthTo address health issues.

It has been proven to be ineffective over the 13 years that have passed since the introduction of the blue checkmark badge.

In August 2021Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author said that a verified account in his name, which shared thoughts about kombucha, TikTok and other topics, was not his.

in november 2019Twitter has criticized Britain’s Conservative Party for its “attempts at mislead people”. The party temporarily changed the name “CCHQPress”, one its verified accounts to “factcheckUK”, during an election debate. two years agoTwitter suspended its verification program after verifying an account belonging to a prominent white supremacist. This was criticized by those who saw it as endorsement.

People have complained in recent years of being unchecked or confused about how the process works. In May 2021Twitter made it easy with Allow users to apply to be verified.

If Musk is all right, then the ambiguity in this system might soon be clarified through cold, consistent criticism.