Lots of personalities on Twitter got mad. They felt like Twitter, the organization, was endorsing Kessler by confirming his account. Twitter agreed to review its verifying policies.
Kessler and a few of other white nationalists lost their blue checkmark confirmations as part of the new rules, which state the corporation can remove a user’s verification badge if that person violates the company’s guidelines.
Crisis averted, right? Everyone satisfied that no more supremacists are taking Twitter’s stamp of approval?
Included in the new verification guidelines was this: “Twitter maintains the right to remove verification at any time externally any notice. Reasons for removal may speculate behaviors on and off Twitter that include…”
That was actions both on and off Twitter.
With a single verdict, Twitter has saddled itself with an incredible responsibility. It not only plans to police its users while they’re using the aid. Now it has to police them when they’re not on Twitter, too.
That’s a remarkably tall order for any company. It’s unclear how Twitter will do this, or how effective it will be in searching for violators.
But the expression was not accidental. Twitter is actually multiplying down by the approach. On Friday, the company published new guidelines on violence and physical harm. Again, it promised to hold users accountable for their offline behavior.
“You also may not affiliate with organizations that whether by their own descriptions or exercise both on and off the platform use or encourage violence against civilians to further their causes,” Twitter wrote.
So if you’re part of a group that doesn’t follow Twitter’s guidelines of the service, you could now be dismissed by the company on the service.
This is a very a slippery slope. You presumably won’t find many people shocked that Twitter took away the confirmation badge of a supremacist.
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