Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson is annoyed he's lost his blue tick on Twitter (TWTR)

Reuters/Neil Hall

The all-important "verified" blue tick on Twitter is, like so much else in life, hard won and easily lost.

Twitter is in the process of stripping white supremacists and far-right figures of their blue ticks on Twitter, because it said the blue ticks have come to resemble endorsement.

That now includes Tommy Robinson — real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — the former leader of the English Defence League. 

Robinson, who once described Islam as a "fascist" religion, is not happy, complaining that other controversial figures still retain their blue ticks. One example he gives is Ian Watkins, the former Lost Prophets frontman who is currently serving a prison sentence for multiple sexual offences against minors.

He also pointed to a Twitter account associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group which ruled in Egypt in 2012 and 2013, but is not considered a terrorist organisation by the UK government. Saudi Arabia and UAE have deemed the group a terrorist outfit.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/931057993474625537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
They remove my blue tick meanwhile Islamic terrorist organisations still have theirs . Go figure pic.twitter.com/XwTFGA5IRt

According to Robinson, Twitter notified him on Wednesday that it was removing his verified badge permanently because his account didn't confirm to its verification guidelines.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/930932431431008256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
& so it begins pic.twitter.com/DXhkfW0IIq

"The truth is now hate speech," Robinson wrote.

Robinson is known for regularly espousing anti-Islam views which are often factually incorrect. For example, he has publicised the incorrect theory that the former US president Barack Obama was raised a Muslim.

And he boasted on Saturday of attending an anti-Islam march in Poland where, according to media reports, demonstrators could be heard shouting for a "Jew free" country.

Robinson isn't the only controversial figure to lose his verified status: neo-Nazi Richard Spencer also lost his blue tick, as have other right-wing commentators.

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See Also:

• A UK Government minister is pressuring Facebook to hand over evidence of Russian interference in the EU referendum

• Twitter warns it may strip users of their 'verified' status as it rethinks who deserves the blue badge

• Bitcoin investors can now use Square's Cash app to buy and sell the cryptocurrency

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