Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey set the internet ablaze on Tuesday when he appeared to reveal the identity of the employee who can get accounts verified.
In a Wired interview published to YouTube, Dorsey answered a range of Twitter users’ questions and seemingly revealed how anyone can obtain the coveted blue checkmark.
“There’s a guy named Kayvon, and he handles all the verification, which is the blue checkmark,” Dorsey said. “So if you either DM him or mention him, you have a high probability of getting a blue checkmark.”
But this isn’t just any employee. Kayvon Beykpour, whose official title is product lead, was referred to by Dorsey as “the verification god.”
As expected, Beykpour’s Twitter account was immediately bombarded by countless users hoping to achieve verification.
“Hey @kayvz! Can you verify me?” Twitter user @innovate_do asked. “@jack said you would!”
Hey @kayvz ! Can you verify me? @jack said you would!
— Imad Bougataya (@innovate_do) January 15, 2020
@kayvz I need help with getting my blue check mark…I'm about have over 500k streams on #SoundCloud aswell inherd you the guy to talk too pic.twitter.com/vR9xrJhz16
— Siles Hendrix (@siles_hendrix) January 15, 2020
@kayvz you are the god, @jack said so! Don’t deny it, just verify, verification god… 😊
— ‘TIQUR ANBESA’ (ጥቁር አንበሳ) /𝕏 (@Tikur_Anbesa) January 15, 2020
But it appears Dorsey may have been playing a prank on Beykpour, who has since updated his Twitter profile to deny the claim.
“SORRY I’M NOT THE ‘VERIFICATION GOD’ AND WON’T BE ABLE TO VERIFY YOU,” Beykpour’s profile states.
Bold of @kayvz to so openly defy his CEO in his own bio.
— Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) January 15, 2020
Idk man, @jack did tell us that all verification flows through you.
Can we get a ruling, @twitter? pic.twitter.com/Vxh5pJW5G0
Others seemed to be in on the joke as well, offering their condolences to Beykpour, who, for some reason, still has his Twitter DMs open.
“I feel so sorry for his mentions rn pfft lmao,” Twitter user @amrith said.
I feel so sorry for his mentions rn pfft lmao https://t.co/UCPsWINbbJ
— Amrith (@amrith) January 15, 2020
https://twitter.com/jennyearnest/status/1217547299343106048?s=20
Oh @kayvz, what has @jack done to your mentions?!?!?! https://t.co/uojAu9QGgH
— J Geary ⚡️💙 (@JoannaG) January 15, 2020
Beykpour even responded to the onslaught of messages by posting a GIF showing an individual being broadsided in the face by a fish.
— Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) January 14, 2020
The Daily Dot reached out to Beykpour over Twitter to inquire about his newly appointed title as verification god but did not receive a response by publication time.
Unfortunately for all the unverified accounts, it appears that Beykpour will not be granting verification status anytime soon. And while Twitter in 2016 offered users a way to apply for verification, the process was put on hold just a year later.
But that hasn’t stopped Twitter from randomly verifying certain accounts, which has only further enraged those without a blue checkmark. At the same time, there are plenty of other users who just don’t care and are unimpressed with verified Twitter altogether.
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H/T NiemanLab