Twitter suspends verification process after uproar over Charlottesville organizer’s verified status

(Credit: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)

Jason Kessler, the organizer of the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, was bestowed with “verified” status on his Twitter profile on Tuesday, giving an imprimatur of authority to the far-right organizer. After a minor uproar, the entire verification program was suspended only two days later, in another major mishap for the social media website.

“Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon,” the company tweeted after widespread outrage that Kessler’s platform was further legitimized.

 

Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 9, 2017

 

Kessler has tweeted that the woman killed at the Charlottesville White Supremacists protest “was a fat, disgusting Communist” and that her death “was payback time.” @jack, is this what you want on your platform?https://t.co/egyZCi8GAv — Anthony De Rosa