Twitter’s blue-check doomsday date is set and it’s no April Fool’s joke

It seems like only yesterday that Twitter users were all vying to get their accounts verified, with the coveted blue checkmark that proved users were their accounts who they said they were. Now, in 2021, Twitter has announced that it’s about to start revoking those precious blue checks for a number of users.

Twitter announced last week that it will begin the process of suspending accounts that don’t meet their verification policy requirements on April 7th. The company stated that this policy change is in order to ensure that Twitter enforces its expectations of behavior on the platform. Twitter’s Chief Design Officer, Dantley Davis, tweeted “We’re continuing to build principled technology and enforcement systems that serve the global public good, and make Twitter a safer, healthier and more secure platform.”

The policy change is intended to target accounts belonging to people whose accounts have had significant violations of the Twitter rules. Twitter will be removing the blue checkmark from any user that has violated certain terms and conditions, including those who have posted hateful materials or have been linked to hate groups, as well as users that have violated the platform’s terms of service in other ways. According to Twitter’s statement, these accounts will have the blue checkmark removed within days of April 7th.

The policy change is a significant one for Twitter and its users, as the blue checkmark is one of the most visible and important symbols of online legitimacy. This has been especially true in the age of disinformation, where many users rely on the blue checkmark as a sign that the account is legitimate. That being said, Twitter has also noted that they are not removing the accounts themselves and that users may still tweet without the blue checkmark.

Twitter users who want to keep their blue checkmark should keep in mind the importance of abiding by the rules and regulations laid out by the platform. We’ll see soon enough if April 7th marks the official doomsday date for blue-check accounts and if so, how many accounts will be affected. Until then, stay tuned and keep following the terms and guidelines of Twitter if you want to keep your blue checkmark intact.