Twitter Restores White Nationalist Group Leader's Account
Source: YouTube
Source: YouTube
Twitter has removed verification badges from a number of prominent white nationalist accounts after changing its policy on verified accounts.
WATCH: Black British Journalist Calls Out White Supremacist Richard Spencer For Justifying Slavery
On Wednesday, Twitter updated its verification guidelines and added a new set of rules that verified users must follow in order to maintain their status on the social media platform. Those new rules include "Promoting hate and/or violence against, or directly attacking or threatening other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease," "Violent, gruesome, shocking, or disturbing imagery," and "Intentionally misleading people on Twitter by changing one's display name or bio."
The change comes in hopes of clarifying what the verification means on Twitter.
"Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance," Twitter wrote. "We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it."
As a result of this a number of notable white nationalists have had their blue check marks removed from their accounts, including white supremacist Richard Spencer, Charlottesville “Unite the Right” protest organizer Jason Kessler, and alt-right personalities Laura Loomer, and James Allsup.
"Verified no more! Is it not okay to be proudly White?" Spencer tweeted upon losing his verification.
Twitter is currently working on a new authentication program for verified accounts. Until then, the social media site said that it is not going to accept any public submissions for verification.
In related news, Spencer recently was called "ridiculous" by a black British journalist after he attempted to justify slavery.
"Look, they benefited from being in a different nation than their own. No doubt. How can you deny that," Spencer said during an interview with The Guardian's Gary Younge.
"It's such a ridiculous notion that people forcibly removed from their homes and taken to this country to work for nothing for a couple of centuries ― and that benefited them," Younge replied.
