Earlier this week, Twitter verified Jason Kessler, the white nationalist and principal organizer behind the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one dead in August — and many people are unhappy about it.
Strictly speaking, Twitter verification is not an endorsement of views. According to the social media company’s own guidelines, the blue check simply means that an account “of public interest is authentic.”
But in practice, Twitter routinely uses the verification badge as a mark of legitimacy and is willing to withhold it from certain highly influential accounts of public interest — like Julian Assange.