From Pope Francis to Kim Kardashian to Donald Trump, many Twitter accounts are affected by the removal of old certifications. These were based on identity verification and prevented any usurpation. Those who pay the blue payment badge launched by Elon Musk, keep their check mark. Problem: This one doesn’t come with any identity verification. In other words: an account displaying a blue badge may very well be linked to identity theft or a scam. Here’s how to make sure a Twitter account is authentic.
• If the account has a blue badge
Showing a blue badge now has no other value than a digital receipt. So look for clues about account activity: look at old tweets, determine if the account has recently joined Twitter, look at the number of subscribers, dig into mentions, check other social networks if the account is certified. Other clues can be useful, like looking to see if the profile shares a link to an official site, for example.
If it’s an account linked to an official brand or organization, the most effective way is to go to the latter’s official website – most will post a link to their official Twitter account.
It is also possible that a blue badged account is also affiliated with an organization. In this case, it can be one more guarantee of the authenticity of an account, without it being perfectly reliable. Under these conditions, the blue badge is associated with the logo of the organization that has chosen to affiliate the account in question.
• If the account does not have a credential
A small manipulation allows, for now, to know if an account is previously certified, with a real identity verification. You have to write in the Twitter search bar: filter:verified from:@name (for example filter:verified from:@bfmtv). If an account was verified, their latest tweets will appear as a verified account. If not, Twitter will show: “no results”.
Please note that this method also returns positive results in the case of a blue badge linked to a simple paid subscription, therefore without identity verification. Paradoxically, therefore, it is easier to verify the authenticity of an account without a blue badge than an account with this artifice.
Of course, the absence of “historical” certification of an account does not imply that it is fraudulent. But without this item, it will be imperative to use the various verification methods mentioned above.
• If an account has a gray or gold badge
On this side, no change at the moment since the gray accounts designate government or official accounts of a public nature, while the golden badges are linked to companies.
• In Internet files
The Wayback Machine site allows you to find previously published web pages. To use it, you need to enter a link and select a date.
This technique allows, in particular, to see if an account was previously certified: all you have to do is enter the address of a Twitter account, then select a date prior to the acquisition of the social network by Elon Musk (by example, during the summer). 2022).
Source: BFM TV
