Twitter opens verification process so that anyone can get all-important little tick

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Anyone can now apply to have their Twitter account verified.

For years, the little white tick in a blue circle has been seen by some as a marker of importance, bestowed on people that Twitter views as being in the “public interest”. But the site is now looking to make the process of getting one more open – even if it isn’t actually making it easier.

Twitter will now let anyone ask to be verified through an online process.

The site won’t actually change the requirements for being verified, so the change won’t necessarily lead to more people getting the little blue badges. But it could allow different people to get them, who are outside Twitter’s usual view, to get themselves verified.

The new system requires people to send a message to Twitter using a special site. The form asks people to make sure their account satisfies Twitter’s requirements, and asks for further information like scans of ID cards.

Twitter introduced verification as a way of ensuring that accounts claiming to represent public figures and institutions are who they say they are. As such they are usually given to famous people or others more likely to be distributing information that could be controversial.

Twitter says that “typically includes accounts maintained by public figures and organizations in music, TV, film, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas.”

In a blog post announcing the change, Tina Bhatnagar said that it had made the change so that more people could get verified.

“Our goal with this update is to help more people find great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for creators and influencers - no matter where they are in the world - to easily connect with a broader audience,” she wrote.