Twitter to Show Tweets Only from Verified Accounts on For You Timeline

Twitter has recently introduced its For You timeline, which displays tweets recommended by its algorithm from accounts that users do not follow. However, going forward, the timeline will only show tweets from accounts that have a blue tick.

The announcement was made by Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who explained that this change is necessary to prevent the timeline from being inundated with bot accounts. He also stated that users who want to participate in polls must also have a blue tick to ensure the integrity of the voting process.

Starting from April 15, Twitter’s For You timeline will exclusively feature tweets from verified accounts. Musk emphasized that this is the only realistic way to combat the growing threat of advanced AI bots taking over social media platforms. He suggested that AI bots could subscribe to Twitter Blue to obtain a blue tick and gain visibility on the For You timeline, provided they are not impersonating humans.

The For You timeline not only displays tweets from unfamiliar accounts, but also content that matches the user’s previous likes or has been liked by others in their network. Despite this, the introduction of the For You timeline has been met with criticism from Twitter users. This new decision by Twitter and Musk to make it exclusively show content from verified accounts is unlikely to improve its popularity.

Moreover, Twitter has announced that it will remove the “legacy” blue tick from important accounts on April 1. As a result, the For You timeline will be filled primarily by users who subscribe to Twitter Blue, as well as brands and official government accounts.

This decision by Twitter to exclusively display content from verified accounts on its For You timeline will have a significant impact on how users engage with the platform. Verified accounts have been traditionally reserved for high-profile individuals and brands, such as celebrities, politicians, and major corporations.

The move to limit visibility on the For You timeline to verified accounts will likely discourage ordinary users from creating content on Twitter. This could lead to a decline in user-generated content and a corresponding decrease in engagement levels on the platform.

Furthermore, this decision could reinforce the existing power dynamics on Twitter, where verified accounts have a greater influence than unverified ones. This could have implications for the spread of information and the formation of public opinion on the platform.