You are no one without a blue tick. Or at least, that’s how some verified Twitter users make non-verified users feel. Twitterpolitan liberal elite. Never mind that the tick is actually white on a blue background.
It seems Twitter’s verification privileges may skew male. A study commissioned by tech website Mashable has found that in the US and Australia, far more men than women have been verified, likely disproportionate to the gender of users.
The study examined verified accounts of individuals (excluding organisations and brands) that had tweeted between August to September 2016, and found that of Australian verified users, 83.3% were male and just 16.7% female. In the US, verified users were estimated to be 56.6% male and 43.4% female. No figures were obtained for UK estimates.
Twitter does ask for the country of users upon registration, but as it does not ask for a user’s gender preference or sex on either sign-up or upon verification, it is difficult to establish for certain the gender balance of users. For this study, analysis firm Brandwatch, estimated gender using content filters (for example, looking for specific words or images). The report does not mention gender identity other than male or female.
In July, Twitter announced it would expand the number of verified accounts beyond brands, institutions and anyone who has any affiliation to BuzzFeed whatsoever. You can request to have your account verified here. Just remember to put on a deep voice.
