Parents of Twitter Co-Founder Campaign for Verified Accounts

By Daniel Bean April 10, 2013

The blue badge with the check-mark that appears on some Twitter user's headers signifies that an account has been "verified" by Twitter. For example, here is ABC News technology editor Joanna Stern's verified account:

Image credit: @joannastern/Twitter

In an odd turn of events, it now looks like the #GrandparentsofTwitter, the believed parents of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, have begun a grassroots campaign to get their personal Twitter accounts verified.

The #DorseyVerifyCampaign began when the Dorseys, @Tim535353 and @marciadorsey, sent out a couple of tweets Monday about wanting their own Twitter accounts verified.

Why the parents of the co-founder of Twitter would need to garner support to simply achieve verified status is unknown. ABC News reached out to Twitter and the Dorseys, but neither immediately responded to messages left. Jack Dorsey grew up in St. Louis; his parents still reside there.

Never the less, online support has emerged:

Verified Twitter accounts are meant to help users "discover high-quality sources of information and trust that a legitimate source is authoring the account's Tweets," but the Twitter @verified system concentrates on users that are "at high risk of impersonation." These are defined as "highly sought users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, advertising, business, and other key interest areas."

Jack Dorsey's parents aren't musicians, movie stars or high caliber politicians, but by the time this #DorseyVerifyCampaign reaches full throat, @Tim535353 and @marciadorsey may end up with enough followers to be considered celebrities. In an ordinary case, @verified would vet any account considered for a verified badge, but @jack (Jack Dorsey's Twitter handle) has retweeted these users before, including this adorable Christmas Eve picture which looks to feature @jack himself:

Regardless, unless the #GrandparentsofTwitter do end up getting the nepotistic pass, Twitter guidelines state that the verification process could take time. So sit tight, #DorseyVerifyCampaign tweeters, it's only been a couple of days of getting the word out. Perhaps @Tim535353 and @marciadorsey will still end up with blue badges afterall.