As Twitchy reported, Twitter found itself in a bit of a dilemma recently over its verification policy. Ideally, the coveted blue check on Twitter does one thing only: it proves that the person, usually a celebrity, is who he says he is, as authenticated by Twitter.
However, the blue check eventually appeared as an endorsement, leading people like comedian and Twitchy regular Michael Ian Black to issue an ultimatum: either un-verify white nationalists like Jason Kessler, or lose him and his 2 million+ followers.
On Wednesday, Twitter announced its new guidelines, including some against so-called hate speech, and voila, the blue checks started disappearing. White supremacists like Kessler and Richard Spencer were among those who kept their accounts but are no longer “verified.”
To Spencer’s credit, he didn’t compare the loss of his blue check to the Holocaust as others did.
Verified no more! Is it not okay to be proudly White? ??♂️
— Richard ? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) November 15, 2017
Dude, it was just a checkmark, but you be you.
Sure, although you make the rest of us ashamed. https://t.co/uaz2WPyLZR
— Anthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) November 16, 2017
It's fine to be white. Being a Nazi, tho… not so cool these days. https://t.co/W6wZYDVwNn
— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) November 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/AviWoolf/status/930957318233128960
https://twitter.com/gettinnoticedmo/status/930944545243545601
https://twitter.com/Moj_kobe/status/930942841349480448
Ouch.
You're still a verified racist asshole, though. https://t.co/vVfXBdIaN8
— Cher (@thecherness) November 16, 2017
Looks like @RichardBSpencer is back to wearing just his Hitler Youth pin. https://t.co/yzsurS8PkV
— Jacopo della Quercia (@Jacopo_della_Q) November 16, 2017
It's not ok to be an evil racist POS but don't worry. You'll always be verifiable as that. https://t.co/6PdeibGMcM
— Christina McKeen? (@ChristinaMcKeen) November 16, 2017
Don't worry, Richard. You don't need to be verified for everyone to know that you're an #AltWanker. https://t.co/GkNw6KL4Sf
— Conspirador Norteño (@conspirator0) November 16, 2017
It's irrational and stupid to take pride in something over which you never had any control. https://t.co/cv1qN3XP5J
— Not-So-OK Boomer Rand (@Rand_Simberg) November 16, 2017
You'll just have to fall back on being a famously-punched Nazi I guess. https://t.co/6MzblgzVkj
— A.R. Moxon (@JuliusGoat) November 16, 2017
You poor child! That must have been a real punch in the eye. https://t.co/ZpSnYCepEb
— Frederick Douglass (@DeadDouglass) November 16, 2017
Aw, poor little snowflake. https://t.co/XwW4Jz2FLU
— Just Jon Ott (@OriginalJLP) November 16, 2017
Maybe twitter could replace his blue tick with a swastika or something. https://t.co/SJJQa7nWy2
— MARK NEWTON (@NewtonMark) November 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/phlubup/status/931037461651767296
I dunno man, I feel like if you were the real richard spencer you'd have a checkmark. https://t.co/H81eFXt5FL
— Azure (@aguyuno) November 16, 2017
I'm seriously considering stop tweeting.
Yes, I know some might say "Don't let the SJWs win!" But the fact is, I have no confidence in the platform. De-verfiying seems like a first step towards banning.
— Richard ? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) November 16, 2017
Twitter had the chance to become a true global public square, the preeminent free-speech platform of the digital age.
Instead, its leadership seems to want just another safe and boring place, for safe and boring opinions.
— Richard ? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) November 16, 2017
It’s a checkmark, buddy.
Kessler, who organized the deadly protest in Charlottesville, was also stripped of his blue check, although we have no idea how that amounts to “censorship,” seeing as it’s a private service and he still has his account.
https://twitter.com/TheMadDimension/status/930943113958436864
Dude, we still hear you … whining. Better to let people like Spencer and Kessler speak than clumsily “crack down” on speech like so many universities have done.
It will be interesting, though, to see where Twitter goes next, now that it’s put a “pause” on private verification. The system is a mess all around, and we’ll need some popcorn to get through it — just how far will the service go in “cleaning up” its blue-checked non-endorsements?
https://twitter.com/Communism_Kills/status/930940379490410497
Stay tuned.
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Related:
And everything is STUPID: Laura Loomer compares losing her blue check on Twitter to the Holocaust https://t.co/2y9dQnF8Or
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 16, 2017
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