Twitter removes blue verification tick from Bhagwat’s accounts

New Delhi, Jun 05 (PTI):
Social media giant Twitter on Saturday removed the blue verification tick from the accounts of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other senior functionaries only to restore it after a lot of hue and cry by Sangh sympathisers on social media.
Taking strong objection, Rajiv Tuli, a functionary in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) Delhi unit, told PTI that this “clearly shows biasness and a clear example of ‘tech feudalism’ by Twitter”. He cited several Twitter handles which have been “inactive but continue to remain verified”. The blue tick, which is a verification badge, was removed from five accounts belonging to senior functionaries of the RSS, the ruling BJP’s ideological mentor, sources in the Sangh said.
Later in the day, the verification badge of Bhagawat, Suresh Soni, Arun Kumar, Suresh Joshi and Krishna Gopal was restored. Tuli said it was “done after much heckling”.
Earlier in the day, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s verification badge was also removed which was later restored.

Twitter on blue tick removal:

Amid outrage over personal accounts of Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat losing verified blue tick marks, Twitter on Saturday said the blue badge and verified status could be automatically removed from an account if it is incomplete or inactive for six months as per its rules.
On Saturday, Twitter said as per its verification policy, the microblogging platform may automatically remove the blue verified badge and verified status if the account becomes inactive or is incomplete.
“Inactivity is based on logging in. To keep the account active, the account holder must make sure to log in at least every 6 months, Twitter said.
Accounts holders that sport the blue badge must also ensure that their profiles are complete and include either a verified email address or phone number as well as a profile image and a display name, as per the rules.
Twitter, however, did not disclose the number and details of the accounts that had been actioned under these rules.
The coveted ”blue badge” helps users distinguish the authenticity of accounts that are of high public interest, and gives Twitter users more context about who they’re having conversations with, the micro-blogging platform had earlier stated.