Since yesterday, several users in India of X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, have seen the golden/blue ticks disappear from their handles. The loss of ticks means that these accounts are no longer ‘verified’ on the platform.
The ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign
On Sunday, two days ahead of the 77th Independence Day, prime minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to change their social media display pictures to ‘Tiranga’ (the national tricolour) as part of the second edition of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign.
Soon after, people began using the tricolour as their profile picture on X. With the change in display photos, the ticks went away from all such accounts.
Why did the ticks disappear?
This is due to a policy of the tech giant. Under the policy, handles that are verified, or, in other words, have ticks, must use both their authentic names and display pictures. If there is any change, then the X management will carry out a comprehensive review of such profiles and the verified status or ticks will be restored only if these accounts once again follow the specified guideline.
It must be noted, however, that PM Modi’s X handle continued to be verified despite a change in its profile image.
How many ticks does X have?
Three: blue, gold, and grey. Blue is for those who have subscribed to X Premium, gold represents an official organisation, and grey is for government/multilateral officials or agencies.
Click here for details.