Twitter will give priority to COVID-19 tweets from verified handles

In these times when we have seen that misinformation and fake news is a huge problem for everyone around the world, it is the social media platforms where these things get shared and go viral. So the first thing that needs to be done is companies need to stop the spread of news which is totally incorrect or even somewhat incorrect.

One of the many ways in which social media platforms are understanding the difference between types of people and letting users know whom to follow is by making those handles verified. This is a way to tell people that those sources are trusted and they can follow their content.

Now, Twitter has announced that they will give priority to the content which is shared by verified accounts over accounts that are not verified in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. This means that if you have a verified account then your post is likely to reach more people.

However, we have also seen that there are people who have a verified account but are also susceptible to sharing fake news until later when they are told by unverified accounts that this is fake.

“PSA about what we’re doing to Verify Twitter accounts that are providing credible updates around #COVID19: we are working with global public health authorities to identify experts and have already Verified hundreds of accounts, but there’s more to do and we could use your help.”

The fact that Twitter mentions they are verifying people who are credible sources means that they are looking for verified accounts in the health space to promote their content. The company reveals that the verification process will be sped up for accounts that have an email address associated with an authoritative organization or institution. This also applies to the COVID-19 experts that have not been verified as yet.