How To Get Twitter Verified On Mastodon, $8 Elon Musk Tax Not Required

Get ‘Twitter verified’ on Mastodon

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There’s no doubt that Mastodon, a federated, decentralized, community-based social network founded in 2016, has experienced a growth explosion since Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover of Twitter. With millions of new members joining up, either as their primary social network or a backup option for if or when Twitter implodes, it’s only natural that there are questions to be asked.

Questions like how secure a platform is Mastodon, or what do I need to know about Mastodon privacy? I have already tried to answer both of these; follow the above links for the articles here on Forbes. Another popular question is how do I verify my identity on Mastodon? This is something that is of particular concern for those moving across from Twitter who0 may have had large followings or even a properly substantiated blue verification checkmark.

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The easiest method of verifying that you are who you say you are, from the ‘I am happygeek on Twitter’ perspective, for example, is to put a clear link to your Mastodon account in your Twitter profile and then point to that from your Mastodon one.

However, not everyone will be bothered about clicking on links and going back to Twitter to check such things. Many potential followers will want a simple visual indication that you are who you say you are. The blue checkmark verification thing doesn’t exist on Mastodon and the $8 Twitter Blue subscription process devalues it on the bird site.

Hold on, you may be thinking, I’ve seen plenty of accounts with blue checkmarks on Mastodon; what are you talking about? Fair point. I’ve got one. I’ve also got one with a red line through it, and both are displayed on my profile and alongside my username. These are just icons that anyone can apply, and they mean nothing more than that.

Green profile links and ticks denote verification on Mastodon

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Which is problematic as impersonation is as much a thing on Mastodon as it is on Twitter and potentially harder to prevent. Already overworked Mastodon instance (think server or servers) admins can check the account and block the obvious ones, but there are lots of instances on Mastodon by its very nature, making it all but impossible to catch them all. Luckily, then, there are ways to verify you are whom you say you are, or were, on Twitter that come with more gravitas. None are 100% perfect, but what is in life, especially online life? In Mastodon terms these come with a green link and tick in your Mastodon profile.

The Twittodon option for verifying ,Twitter and Mastodon account links

Twittodon is probably the quickest way to link your Twitter and Mastodon accounts

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Twittodon is a free to use tool that verifies the connection between Twitter and Mastodon accounts and provides that all-important green link and checkmark. Twittodon’s creator, Tomasz Dunia, says that the main aim, though, is to “create a great database of Twitter-Mastodon verified connections,” that “let your followers find you.” It does this without any need to hand over your credentials for either platform. Doing so can be a barrier to using those tools that try and export followers from Twitter and import them into Mastodon, especially for the more security-minded user. Once you have consented to the processing of your data (a privacy policy link is provided) you enter your Twitter username and your Mastodon account, with instance, in the form of user@instance. I am happygeek@infosec.exchange, for example. Then hit the big connect button. That’s it as far as being added to the database is concerned. To get the green link and checkmark, create a new entry in the metadata section of your Mastodon profile and use the link provided by Twittodon.

The Fedified option, for legacy Twitter verified users

Fedified connects legacy Twitter verified users with their Mastodon accounts

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If you are already verified on Twitter, there’s a service called Fedified that will verify that verification, if you see what I mean. There are some caveats, of course. Firstly, the service is only open to residents of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Fedified says this is “due to region-specific data storage requirements that are beyond the scope of this free public service.” Your Twitter verification also needs to have been established before November 5, 2022. This means only what Twitter now calls ‘legacy verifications’ are eligible. I call these genuine verifications, backed up by substantive identification and notability requirements, rather than a blue checkmark $8 fire sale. Fedified acts as a centralized directory of verified Twitter users who can also be found on Mastodon, which has caused controversy among some Mastodon users who think it goes against the decentralized nature of the network. You will need to form your own opinion about this but, assuming you do use the service, it also provides a Mastodon green verified link between your account and that directory in your profile. As such, if you are looking for another way of maintaining that Twitter verified status on a different social media network, Fediverse could be it.

The non-Twitter option for every Mastodon user who wants to verify their identity

I’ve already mentioned the Mastodon profile metadata section, which is where the verified green links appear after using the above services. But you don’t have to use a specialist tool to get yourself a Mastodon verification here; there’s a built-in method that anyone can use. Instead of linking your Mastodon account to your Twitter one, using a simple bit of code can link it to your website or blog instead. Sure, it’s open to abuse in that a determined threat actor could go to the trouble of setting up a website just for this purpose, but it’s unlikely to be effective were anyone to actually click on the link. Although, from the security perspective, it could be used as the start of a phishing exercise, I guess, but I digress. All you need to do is insert a link on your site in the following format:

A simple bit of code on your website is all it needs

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It’s possible to do this using a plugin if you are a WordPress user, with the Social Icons block of the Gutenberg editor having a Mastodon icon option to make this easier than ever. Once this is done, you just use a link to your website in the metadata section of your profile, which checks for the “rel=me” string, and the green link and checkmark appear.

The PressCheck option, for journalists looking for Mastodon account verification

Back in the pre-Musk days, Twitter had a sizeable team of staff whose role was to verify the identity of notable accounts, including those of bonafide journalists. That team would check references, published articles, and the like before granting the legacy blue checkmark (yes, I know the ‘tick’ is white or black depending upon dark mode use) that was used for visual verification of such accounts. Those days have passed. While Twitter does have some kind of verification process now, with different color ticks for government or media organizations, the blue checkmark comes as part of the Twitter Blue subscription package. Beyond the ability to provide personal and payment details, it’s unclear how this actually verifies anyone to any meaningful degree. It’s no surprise, then, that those blue checkmarks have now been devalued on Twitter. My legacy verification even now states that I ‘may or may not’ be notable, despite passing the original stringent requirements, assumingly because I’m not paying $8 a month. Actually, it would be more as I use an iPhone, and Twitter has applied a secondary tax for iPhone users.

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PressCheck provides Mastodon verification for journalists

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PressCheck, established by a well-respected technology reporter working for the Financial Times, Dave Lee, fills the gap for members of the press on Mastodon. Lee says this isn’t about defining what a journalist is, but rather that they are who they say they are. So, freelancers and newsletter writers are as welcome to apply as staff reporters and editors of mainstream media publications. An application form must be completed, and the volunteer team at PressCheck will then do the donkey work to ensure the verification can be made. Tweeting a link to a Mastodon account from an established Twitter account is the best way to expedite the process. However, background information and links to work are required for freelancers and newsletter writers. Once accepted, a PressCheck profile is created and it is this database entry that is used for the metadata link in your Mastodon profile.