![]() “The blue or gold check mark just verifies you as a paid subscriber and does not verify identity,” he said.Įxperts and advocates tracking election discourse on social media say Twitter’s changes do not just incentivize bad actors to run disinformation campaigns - they also make it harder for well-meaning users to know what’s safe to share. Griswold’s office received a gray check mark to maintain trust with voters, but she told the AP she would not buy verification for her personal Twitter account because “it doesn’t carry the same weight” it once did.Ĭustodio, at the Philadelphia elections commission, said his office would not buy verification either, even if it gets denied a gray check. ![]() When anyone can buy verification and when government accounts are not consistently labeled, the check mark loses its meaning, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said. Some government accounts, including the one representing Pennsylvania’s second-largest county, have purchased blue checks because they were told it was required to continue advertising on the platform.Īllegheny County posts ads for elections and jobs on Twitter, so the blue check mark “was necessary,” said Amie Downs, the county’s communications director. “Even a minor setback, like no longer being able to ensure that our information on Twitter is verified, contributes to an environment that is less predictable and less safe.” ![]() “Our job is to reinforce public confidence,” Bellows told the AP. If the account remains unverified, it will be easier to impersonate – and harder for voters to trust – heading into Election Day.Īn email sent to Twitter’s press office and a company safety officer requesting comment was answered only with an auto-reply of a poop emoji. That’s troubling, Custodio said, because Pennsylvania has a primary election May 16 and the commission uses its account to share important information with voters in real time. It’s unclear whether is an eligible government account under Twitter’s new rules. The election commission applied weeks ago for a gray check mark - Twitter’s new symbol to help users identify official government accounts – but has yet to hear back from the Twitter, commission spokesman Nick Custodio said. That’s made it harder to distinguish from a list of random accounts not run by the elections office but with very similar names. The account for the city commissioners who run elections, was the only one carrying a blue check mark, a sign of authenticity.īut ever since the social media platform overhauled its verification service last month, the check mark has disappeared. NEW YORK (AP) - Tracking down accurate information about Philadelphia’s elections on Twitter used to be easy. ![]()
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