Twitter Refuses to Revoke Louis Farrakhan’s Blue Checkmark Despite Numerous Anti-Semitic Tweets

Twitter routinely revokes the verified status of white supremacists and other hate mongers, but the social-media giant has thus far refused to take action in the case of well-known anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.

Farrakhan, who leads the Nation of Islam, has a long history of spouting anti-Semitic and racist vitriol, including most recently referring to Jewish people as his “enemy” during a Saviours’ Day speech last month in Chicago.

A brief review of Farrakhan’s account reveals that he has made no effort to conceal his hateful views on the platform; instead he posts anti-Semitic messages and videos ranting conspiratorially about the ways in which Jewish people threaten the advancement of black people.

When verification was first introduced in 2009, Twitter used it simply as a tool to confirm the identity of public figures. But years later, the platform shifted its stance, deciding to police the content of verified users to ensure they don’t violate user policy, which prohibits “promoting hate and/or violence against, or directly attacking or threatening other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease.”

Twitter removed the verified status of prominent white-supremacists Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler in November of last year, after banning alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos altogether in 2016.

The platform’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Farrakhan’s verified status.