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Twitter Verified a Russian Crimea Account, Upsetting Ukraine

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Map showing Russia, Ukraine, and Crimea, each as a different color. Crimea borders both Ukraine and Russia, but is historically a part of Ukraine.

Map of Russia, Ukraine, and Crimea. Map via Wikipedia.

Ah, the Twitter blue checkmark. Nothing defines legitimacy more like it. Okay, that’s far from the truth. Twitter’s blue checkmark largely means you’ve got enough followers and your Twitter account is associated with either a real identity or a website. Fun fact… Leaf and Core does not have the blue checkmark. I know, it’s sad.

https://twitter.com/LeafAndCore/status/1084808721899970565

But while Leaf and Core is a legitimate website, with well-sourced articles, highly factual reporting, and, well, an obviously left-leaning author (my bad), Russia’s occupation of the Crimea peninsula is far less legitimate. Despite that, Twitter has given a Russian Crimea account the official checkmark. Legitimate news websites like this one aren’t the only ones upset. Ukraine, upset by the Russian occupation of its country, isn’t happy that Twitter, of all sources, is lending to its legitimacy.

Now I know how to get that blue checkmark though: buy a bunch of bots to follow my account. I’ve got to call up Vladimir, that guy has bots by the tens of thousands.

The Account in Question

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) set up an account, @PMSimferopol to publicly represent the Russian occupation of Crimea. Simferopol has been the capital of Crimea during Russia’s occupation, since 2014. The Ukrainian city is home to upwards of 340,000 people, making it a clear choice for Russia’s seat of government. Russia, also seeking to make Crimea a tourist destination, as set up base in the city, and has tried to attract international visitors to the spot. As the capital city of Russia’s occupation, it’s naturally the spot where Russia would headquarter its official MFA account.

Last week, Twitter verified the account, a designation it still has of this writing. This not only labels it as an official account, with government backing, but also adds legitimacy to Russia’s occupation of the country.

Why This Matters

According to Russia’s Representative Office in Simferopol, tourism is up in Crimea. Of course, they don’t mention that tourism was down because Russia violently annexed Chrimea from Ukraine over a period just short of a month in 2014.

Ukraine, as well as most western nations and members of NATO, believe Russia’s occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula is illegal. Former U.S. President Obama joined many of these nations in placing sanctions on Russia. The U.S. furthered sanctions against Russia after we found proof of cyber attacks during our 2016 election. However, under Trump, the primary U.S. beneficiary of those attacks, those sanctions have lessened. Even Mitch McConnell, Trump’s ally in the senate, spoke against lifting those sanctions, stating he is, “against lifting any sanctions on the Russians.” He added that, “These sanctions were imposed because of their behavior in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and now we know they’ve been messing around in our elections as well.”

Despite the fact that, at this point, only Russia and its allies consider Crimea a part of Russia, Twitter verified a Russian account claiming governance over the Ukrainian peninsula. This adds public legitimacy, an important thing to consider when it comes to elections. Legitimacy can help soften the blow of Russia’s violent annexation of the country, easing people worldwide into the idea that Crimea is Russia’s. Though only a small action, it can have a large effect on public perception. Twitter, behaving as a sort of Ministry of Truth, has added legitimacy to Russia’s occupation of Ukraine. That could reduce the possibility of elections pushing Ukrainian leaders to reclaim this land.

From Russia with Verification

Crimea is not recognized internationally as a part of Russia. All but Putin’s allies see it as illegally occupied territory. Despite this, Twitter has verified the account. We thought Twitter was too easy on Russian trolls and bots. Turns out, they’re far worse than we thought. They are, intentionally or through ignorance, assisting Russia in its worldwide disinformation campaign.

Diplomats and Ukraine’s U.K. embassy have spoken out against the verification and legitimization of Russia’s illegal occupancy of Crimea. By verifying this account, Twitter has done what all but less than 20 nations worldwide have done: legitimized an illegal occupancy of a democratic country. Twitter has not responded for comment.

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