Twitter is considering creating special account types for humor and satire accounts, a company representative let slip during a Wednesday press call about verification.
While detailing the company’s already announced plan to create “automated” and “memorial” account types in an online presentation to reporters, Twitter product manager B Byrne offhandedly mentioned that the company wasn’t stopping there.
“So we’re starting with automated accounts. We’re also exploring other account types on Twitter,” Byrne explained. “Memorial accounts are next on the list. And we’re also thinking about things like humor and satire accounts, which we’ll be exploring later.”
Twitter provided this example of what an automated account designation looks like. See the label?
Image: twitter
From Byrne’s description, it seems that any effort by Twitter to label accounts as “humor” or “satire” is in the extremely early stages. Even so, the move would be in line with Twitter’s rationale for going out of its way to designate certain bot accounts as “automated,” which Byrne said Twitter plans to start doing in July of this year.
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“People want to know who they’re talking to. And understanding the purpose of an account will help people make their own engagement, trust, and follow decisions,” Byrne explained in the Wednesday call.
And if the purpose of an account is to make you laugh or mock those in power? Well, Twitter apparently wants to make sure that fact isn’t lost on you.