[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Mick

only elites noticed elites

The original Twitter verification program wasn't to create elites, it was to fight impersonation and fraud

https://blog.twitter.com/official/en...ying-ball.html

Verified Accounts Beta (A Sneak Peak)

We do recognize an opportunity to improve Twitter user experience and clear up confusion beyond simply removing impersonation accounts once alerted. We’ll be experimenting with a beta preview of what we’re calling Verified Accounts this summer.

Not Playing Ball
Verified Accounts will feature a special seal.

The experiment will begin with public officials, public agencies, famous artists, athletes, and other well known individuals at risk of impersonation. We hope to verify more accounts in the future but due to the resources required, verification will begin only with a small set.

https://help.twitter.com/en/managing...ication-policy

The blue Verified badge on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic. To receive the blue badge, your account must be authentic, notable, and active.

It's a recent skewing of the reason for the ticks by some groups that has turned it an assumption of it being an 'elite' symbol

https://news.yahoo.com/twitters-blue...173746328.html

While the “blue check” (which is actually a white checkmark in a blue frame, or black checkmark in a white frame if you are using Twitter in dark mode) has come to be viewed in some circles as an elite status symbol for the rich and famous, its purpose has always been to ensure that the people and accounts tweeting are who they say they are. As such, it benefited Twitter as much — if not more — as it benefitted the accounts that were verified, by clamping down on impersonations.