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Twitter said on Tuesday it mistakenly verified some fake accounts that the social media company has now permanently suspended, months after restarting its verification program.
But the news comes as the social media giant has removed prominent conservatives or prevented the spread of news those on the right want to read.
The company in May relaunched verifications after a yearslong freeze on public submissions for the site’s blue check marks, saying only “notable” users would be awarded the badge.
“We mistakenly approved the verification applications of a small number of inauthentic (fake) accounts,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.
“We have now permanently suspended the accounts in question, and removed their verified badge, under our platform manipulation and spam policy.”
The social media company had paused the verification program in 2017 amid criticism that it was arbitrary and confusing. It said at the time the check mark was being confused with “an endorsement or an indicator of importance.”
Under Twitter’s new verification rules, accounts must have been active in the last six months and fit one of several criteria: government, companies, brands and organizations, news outlets and journalists, entertainment, sports and gambling, activists, organizers and other influential individuals.
But many conservatives find little comfort in Twitter’s actions. Breitbart reported that the site took