Image by Twitter

By Ari Feldman November 16, 2017

Laura Loomer and Richard Spencer are among a string of prominent far-right figures to have lost their verification badges on Twitter on Wednesday, Newsweek reported.

Jason Kessler, the organizer of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, and “Baked Alaska”, a prominent “alt-right” figure, also lost the site’s signature blue check marks.

Twitter framed the de-verifications as a response to criticism that the blue badge does not merely authenticate the account, but provides an implicit endorsement of the user’s views.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The company updated its policy so that the badge could be removed if a user “promotes hate” on the basis of “race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease”.

Far-right users on Twitter responded to the updated rules with claims that it was part of a witch hunt against conservative voices on the service.

“It’s time for Washington to regulate Silicon Valley,” Spencer wrote on Twitter. “Law-abiding citizens should have a right to use social networks, payment systems, and hosting, which make up the public square of the 21st century.”

Loomer likened Twitter’s actions to “Hitler,” drawing a comparison between the company’s de-verification of her account with the Holocaust.

Other Twitter users associated with the far-right — including the Proud Boys and Alex Jones — were able to keep their badges.

The de-verifications came a day after the hacking collective Anonymous disabled over a dozen sites run by white supremacists, including TexasKKK.com, NJOathkeepers.org and NorthCarolinaLeagueOfTheSouth.com.

Contact Ari Feldman at feldman@forward.com or on Twitter @aefeldman.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount