Reddit is testing verification badges
Reddit is starting a limited test of verified profiles, which places a grey checkmark beside the username of a notable person or business.
“This feature is designed to help redditors understand who they’re engaging with in moments when verification matters, whether it’s an expert or celebrity hosting an AMA, a journalist reporting news, or a brand sharing information,” Reddit wrote in a blog post.
Believe it or not, there used to be a time on the internet where a verification checkmark simply just confirmed that a notable figure is who they say they are, and was not a signifier that you are paying a monthly fee to Elon Musk and/or Mark Zuckerberg. But Reddit has decided that perhaps it is, actually, a good idea to verify the accounts of public figures in an attempt to mitigate the spread of misinformation.
Reddit acknowledges that pseudonymity is a key part of its culture, allowing users to express themselves more openly than they would if their real name was attached to everything they say. But Reddit says that this feature is completely voluntary and opt-in. The verification feature is less so about denoting a special elite status, but making it easier for both ordinary users and subreddit moderators to quickly verify that someone is being truthful about their identity.
The absence of a checkmark doesn’t mean someone is a fraud, though. Reddit is piloting this feature with a small batch of profiles, and even if the checkmarks get a full rollout, it’s still possible that some famous Redditors won’t get a check.
Tony Hawk, for example, posts very casually on skateboarding subreddits, simply chatting about his favorite sport with likeminded fans. He’s just like us! But he does blow up his spot a bit when he shares his own skating videos on r/OldSkaters, because there probably aren’t many 57-year-olds doing heel flips.
While Reddit’s checkmarks are in their alpha rollout, users will be eligible if they’re active contributors in good standing and “trusted partners,” which Reddit did not specify. Having a checkmark doesn’t give a user any special privileges. However, users will not be eligible for a checkmark if they are an NSFW profile, or if they primarily engage in NSFW communities.
For now, Reddit is manually verifying profiles, but says it will use a third-party process in the future.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Reddit is exploring verification at the same time that its co-founder Alexis Ohanian is launching a reboot of the social aggregator, Digg. Digg’s founders have expressed concern that the internet is becoming flooded with bots and AI agents, and they want Digg to be a place where people can connect with actual humans. They’ve said they’re looking into using zero-knowledge proofs as a potential way to verify that users are human.
Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, has also been exploring means of verifying people’s humanity online. World, Altman’s human verification project, is expected to release an app this week that also focuses on keeping out bots.
Amanda Silberling is a senior writer at TechCrunch covering the intersection of technology and culture. She has also written for publications like Polygon, MTV, the Kenyon Review, NPR, and Business Insider. She is the co-host of Wow If True, a podcast about internet culture, with science fiction author Isabel J. Kim. Prior to joining TechCrunch, she worked as a grassroots organizer, museum educator, and film festival coordinator. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and served as a Princeton in Asia Fellow in Laos.
You can contact or verify outreach from Amanda by emailing amanda@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at @amanda.100 on Signal.
