Bluesky Launches User Verification After Initial Skepticism of Checkmarks

Bluesky has long resisted creating a checkmark verification system to combat impersonation and fraud. But that all changed Monday when the social media company officially announced it was rolling out verification for high-profile organizations and celebrities. “Trust is everything. Social media has connected us in powerful ways, but it hasn’t always given us the tools to know who we’re interacting with or why we should trust them,” the company said in a new blog post. The company went on to explain how Bluesky launched a new feature in 2023 that allowed anyone with a website to make that URL their username on the social media platform, a form of verification that allowed for a decentralized approach to proving who you were. Only Elizabeth Warren has the access necessary to make her website, http://www.warren.senate.gov, appear as her username on Bluesky, @warren.senate.gov. In theory, it’s a great idea. But in practice, there was still some confusion among average users who have bee ... Read full article.