After massive backlash, Twitter has restored the verified blue ticks on the accounts of RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat and other key functionaries of the outfit. Twitter clarified that 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.
The verified status of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s personal Twitter has also been restored hours after it was removed due to “prolonged inactivity”.
Apart from Bhagwat, his colleagues Suresh Soni, Arun Kumar, Suresh Joshi and Krishna Kumar had also the blue tick on Saturday.
While Krishna Kumar and Arun Kumar hold the position of joint general secretaries in the RSS, Suresh “Bhaiyyaji” Joshi has formerly held the post. Suresh Soni a senior member of the right-wing organisation.
‘Inactivity and incomplete details’
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.
Twitter had on Saturday removed and later restored the verified blue tick on the personal account of VP Naidu. Officials of the Vice President Secretariat had said that Naidu’s personal Twitter handle had been inactive for a long time and the Twitter algorithm removed the blue badge.
The last tweet posted from the personal handle was on July 23 last year. The officials said Twitter was contacted after they noticed this morning that the blue tick was removed. Before 10.30 am, the blue tick badge was restored, they said.
Twitter said the account has been inactive since July 2020. It said the verified badge has now been restored. The Vice President uses the official Twitter handle @VPSecretariat to send out tweets.
Meanwhile, the Centre on Saturday gave Twitter an ultimatum and said that that if the micro-blogging site fails to fails to follow the guidelines, they will face the “consequences as per the IT Act and other penal laws”
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