Inside the reckoning of the alt-right on Twitter

Twitter gave Jason Kessler a blue checkmark last week.

That might not sound noteworthy to someone removed from the daily drama of Twitter, but that single decision reinvigorated one of Twitter’s oldest controversies: that neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and members of the alt-right operate in full view on Twitter, spreading hate speech. 

This time, however, the move to verify Kessler, which happened on Nov. 7, and the resulting fallout, with him being stripped of his badge on Nov. 15, looks like it may have finally started a purge. 

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