Allana Akhtar

USA TODAY

Twitter is now taking applications for the blue checkmarks that confirm a user is who she or he purports to be.

Users can now fill out an online application to receive verification status on Twitter, the San Francisco, Calif.-based company said on Tuesday.

Twitter usually verifies accounts after determining the user is “of public interest.” Musicians, actors, politicians, journalists and sports figures are more likely to receive verification.

Noting whether an account is verified is the first step for users seeking to determine whether the information they're getting on the platform is from an authentic source. That's key, since Twitter does not require users to sign up with their real names, leading to the creation of many fake accounts — some for fun, others as a cloak for insulting or trolling other users.

Users who receive verification get more rigid privacy tools and ways to filter out spam or harmful comments by filtering notifications. Verified users may also opt the account out of group direct messages.

A user can lose his or her verified status if an account’s original purpose has changed or if tweets become protected.

The company introduced verification applications so users can better find “creators and influencers” on the social networking site, it said.

"We hope opening this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for these creators and influencers to connect with a broader audience,” Tina Bhatnagar, Twitter’s vice president of User Services, said in a press release.

Some users have said verification can help prominent, unverified users more easily filter offensive or abusive tweets.

Twitter did not explicitly state the verification form was meant to give more users tools to filter out abuse. The company would not respond for further additional comment about verification.

The service, with about 300 million monthly active users, has been criticized for years on failing to do enough to stop users who engage in extended harassment of individuals. That criticism flared again this week after comedian Leslie Jones shared the racist and sexist comments other users targeted at her handle, including pictures comparing her to gorillas and calling her racial slurs, plus a fake account set up in her name that was tweeting slurs.

Jones said the comments hurt her, and will be taking a break from the service "with tears and a very sad heart," but not before she called on Twitter to intervene.

Former CEO Dick Costolo had said it was no secret "we suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform." Current CEO Jack Dorsey said the platform's way of allowing for freedom of expression "starts with safety" in a tweet in February. On Tuesday he invited Jones to contact him directly.

The company's policy is to advise the user to unfollow and block accounts tweeting at one's handle. These tweets don't go away, however. Twitter also provides an online form where users can report offensive behavior, harassment and threats.

Twitter addressed the issue of online abuse earlier this year by announcing a partnership with online groups and experts to help shape its policies in ways that would minimize harassment.

These measures, which largely rely on policing by the user rather than the platform, haven't curbed targeted campaigns directed at users, leading to some commentators — including Jones — to call on Twitter to do a lot more.

"Twitter I understand you got free speech I get it. But there has to be some guidelines when you let spread like that," she tweeted.



