A verified Twitter account has a badge next to the name. This way, other Twitter users could easily recognize real accounts of public figures, brands, and people in media, politics, sports, business, and other high-profile sectors.
The main purpose was to differentiate from fake, impersonating accounts and also block harassment for these people. Verified accounts are automatically designed to filter comments to only allow those from other verified accounts.
Twitter is now loosening up on who can get a verified Twitter account. This is probably due to the outrage Twitter has received from users for availing anti-harassment tools to only 200,000 verified Twitter accounts.
Although it’s still not clear if just anyone can apply for verification, but Twitter has said that much. There is a request form accessible by the public but Twitter has some requirements from you before you request for verification.
Requirements For a Verified Twitter Account:
Your account must have a verified email address and phone number. If the Twitter account belongs to a company, the email address should be a company email address.
Your Twitter profile should be complete with a proper name, profile picture, bio, header image and birthday. Make sure you fill in as much detail as possible. You can change the privacy of the birthday as you wish.
The main bell ringer here is the requirement to own a website. To prove to Twitter that your account is one of public interest, you should at least have your own website.
The tweets from your account need to be public. Verified accounts are for public interest and it useless to have a verified Twitter account with private Tweets. If your tweets are private, make sure you change them back to private before you request verification.
When requesting for a verified account you will be required to explain why you need your account verified. You will have to explain to Twitter what impact your verified account will have and what website urls support your claims.
