How Journalists Can Get Verified on Mastodon

Twitter is officially on its last legs, with Elon Musk losing half of Twitter’s top advertisers inside of a single month. The social media platform has shown evidence of skewing to the far-right as of late, with users complaining political figures like Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are making more frequent appearances in their feeds. In addition, Musk’s pay-to-verify system on Twitter went so horribly awry that verifications have been indefinitely paused on the platform, meaning it’s unclear now who is an authority on the subject they claim to be posting about.

Another site, Mastodon, has recently entered the zeitgeist as a possible Twitter replacement, although not everyone is thrilled with the confusing mechanics. However, one of the things it does allow for is verification via third parties, which allows  people to connect with verified sources. 

PressCheck.org handles the verification process for Mastodon. PressCheck is a “personal project” for Dave Lee at the Financial Times and John Goodwin at CBS News formed directly in response to Musk’s disastrous takeover of Twitter.

"Elon Musk and his fans on Twitter seem to think the 'blue tick' is about a desperate need for status, when really it’s a case of simply being sure people are who they say there are," said Lee.

He added:

"That matters especially when it comes to journalists. I don’t know if Mastodon will be a long-term replacement for Twitter, but it seemed vital that, as people started to join in larger numbers, there was a way to build trust around the media's presence. PressCheck is a relatively simple effort to solve that need."

When completed, a small green badge will appear under the user’s profile, informing others they’ve been verified by PressCheck.org. 

So how can journalists do this and connect with other verified journalists on Mastodon’s servers?

TWEET THE MASTODON ACCOUNT FROM YOUR VERIFIED TWITTER ACCOUNT

If you have already been verified as a journalist by Twitter, that verification should still be there. To transfer it over, tweeting out your Mastodon account via Twitter works. Tweeting out your Mastodon account via any verified social media, including LinkedIn, is a viable option.

SELF-SUBMIT

You will have to submit a verification request from your official email. The email must be registered to some sort of publication that you belong to, or an organization that can otherwise identify you as a credible journalist. 

For now, these are the only two ways to get verified by PressCheck.org. 

"If Mastodon cements itself as an important system for journalists and news, there will be a point where the site will need more formal support and funding. We're considering what that might look like and would welcome any approaches or suggestions on the shape of what comes next," Lee says. "One of the most enjoyable things about this project has been seeing the sheer diversity of those who have applied. The list of beats speaks to that — it really is a broad spread of highly important coverage. In that spirit, we'd love our verification team to reflect the diversity of the platform, so we’d absolutely welcome any offers to volunteer with the verification process."

In the meantime, we continue to wait with bated breath to hear what Musk does next with the formerly reliable Twitter.