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5 min read

verified dreck

verified dreck

Yesterday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk successfully ridded his technologically impaired platform of non-paying verified users. If you don't spend much time on the site, these were the people with the little blue check marks next to their name. The badge, which was usually granted to journalists, officials, businesses, and other public figures, showed that you were who you said you were because Twitter verified your identity.

It also meant to a bizarrely large swath of the right, even those that were verified, that you were simultaneously part of some hated elite and a weakling. At least until it ceased being free.

More on that in a second, but first some history. The current right-wing animus against verification stems from the platform's decision to pull badges for certain accounts violating the platform's terms of service in late 2015. Since then, the term "blue check" or "blue checkmark" has become an insult. It was a means of berating a subset of people that certain facets of the online right is prone to loathe specifically journalists. The term didn't have a fixed meaning. Somehow being a "blue check" could mean you were a loser, rich, poor, entirely funded by billionaire George Soros, stupid, an anarchist, whiny, part of antifa, the head of antifa, a communist, a liberal, a Stalinist, possibly a fed, weak, prone to temper tantrums, or scared of President Donald Trump.

Musk changed that in 2022 by introducing verification through his desperate scheme to raise funds for a failing company paid Twitter Blue service. Right-wing accounts, including some who had lost their verified status as a result of deplatforming, flocked to the service.

To offer one example, here's Patrick Casey, a very forgettable white nationalist, bragging about his verification through Twitter Blue.

Suddenly, being verified doesn't make you a snowflake. It means owning the libs. But of course, a lot of new-fangled paid blue check havers forgot to delete their insults about the status marker. Because why would you? Consistency is for cucks.

What follows is a non-exhaustive list of right-wingers who are: 1) now verified through Twitter Blue; and 2) who complained about "blue checks."  

Jack Posobiec — neo-Nazi collaborator, "fmr CBS News" guy, hard-right internet performer, and a musician of some quality (verified through Twitter Blue and previously through Twitter's legacy program)

Mike Cernovich — male supremacist, Pizzagate proponent, demon-plagued (verified through Twitter Blue and previously through Twitter's legacy program)

Ian Miles Cheong — Malaysia-based commentator on American politics, 59-years-old until stated otherwise (verified through Twitter Blue and previously through Twitter's legacy verification program)

Ian, if you want to set the record straight on your age, please contact me. 

Logan Cook — Kansas-based adult male who uses the name "Carpe Donktum" online, ran a website called "MemeWorld" (verified under Twitter Blue)

Gavin Mario Wax — head of the New York Young Republican Club, encourages people to drink martinis of middling quality (verified through Twitter Blue)

James O'Keefe — the now-former head of the hard-right propaganda group Project Veritas and a music video star of questionable talent (verified through Twitter Blue)

Laura Loomer — allegedly the most banned woman in the world (n.b., there is no supporting evidence necessary for such a claim), once chained herself to Twitter HQ (verified under Twitter Blue and previously under Twitter's legacy verification policy until she began her journey to become the Most Banned Woman In The World)

Cat Turd — an elderly man who named his Twitter account after cat shit (verified through Twitter Blue)

Donald Trump Jr. — no explanation necessary (verified through Twitter Blue and previously through Twitter's legacy verification program)

Scott Adams — "Dilbert" creator, crappy theologian (verified through Twitter Blue and previously under Twitter's legacy verification program)

Eoin Lenihan — social media user (verified through Twitter Blue)

Styxhexenhammer666 — YouTuber, not worth additional research (verified through Twitter Blue)

Dave Rubin — political commentator, a self-described member of the intellectual dark web that was erroneously characterized as intellectual (verified through Twitter Blue and previously through Twitter's legacy verification program)

Who knew that paying money from some stupid pixels could be so cool?