Anti-Porn ‘NoFap’ Twitter Account’s ‘Blue Checkmark’ Questioned (AVN)

Read the full article by Michael French at AVN.com

Movement that claims quitting masturbation makes you more powerful gets Twitter verification.

A researcher for the media watchdog site Media Matters wants to know why Twitter awarded its coveted “blue checkmark” to NoFap—an account claiming to represent an anti-porn movement that believes quitting masturbation can cure diseases and increase intelligence.

The NoFap web site describes itself as a “comprehensive community-based porn recovery site.”

The Daily Dot site reported that after rapper Kanye West announced that he was “addicted” to porn, the NoFap Twitter account fired off about a half-dozen tweets lauding the hip-hop megastar—who served as “creative director” for the PornHub Awards only last year—for his supposed forthrightness.

That drew the attention of Media Matters researcher Brendan Klaret, who took to his own Twitter feed to ask, “Why is there a verified NoFap account?”

On its own site, Twitter explains that the blue checkmark indicating “verified” status is reserved for accounts of “public interest.”

“Typically this includes accounts maintained by users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas,” Twitter says on the site.