Verification on Masto was solved long ago. Just post the adequate backlink on your site. it’s literally the easiest simplest form available, not too different than “post this verification code in your profile”.

You are right, other platforms (read: silos) would block or not even allow the system of putting a simple link or control code, but this is actually correct in that it demonstrates the point that this is not those people’s official, verifiable site, it’s the social media owner’s. And thus just as trustable.

@BeAware@social.beaware.live I have no idea why Elk refuses to mention you properly. Might be a bug.

Relying on 3rd party platforms is far from ideal and like you mentioned unrealistic as it would require API access which would be easily blocked.

Realistically, I can only think of one idiot-proof verification system. Credit card, but that opens up instances to storing payment and identitity data or outsourcing it to a 3rd party service. Anything else would be user based and require at least some input from them.

I absolutely agree that misinformation (and disinformation) is a problem. However, I do not think that it is something with a good software solution at this time. The traditional/corporate social media effectively implemented a non-solution to the problem and declared it solved. Not to mention, verification of identity is an issue that governments also struggle with, relying on substantial amounts of good faith.

There ARE means of tying a software identity to a verifiable and hard to counterfeit computing object. For example, a local cryptographic key pair or a hardware security module. However, without involvement of a trusted third-party, it is not currently possible to tie this computing object to a specific human being.

My thinking is that attempting to implement an identity verification component in the Fediverse, therefore, is likely a misallocation of effort that could be better spent fixing bugs, extending features, and improving stability and interoperability. There is a lot still to do in virtually every project that I’ve peeked at, whether it’s mod tools, IaC, or just plain code cleanup. I think that at this juncture, what is required is more on the social side of things, ensuring that people are aware that one cannot believe everything that they see on the Internet or the identity claims of those that they interact with, unless they undertake further verification themselves. This is what was done in pre-social media forums and BBS systems with a good degree of effectiveness.

Don’t get me wrong, I would be ecstatic to be proven incorrect but would much prefer that identity verification be shelved until such a time as crytographers are able to solve it with their dark mathematical arts than for any Fediverse project to waste time from people’s lives trying to implement a similar non-solution.

That’s the tabloid’s problem then, and who believes shit in tabloids anyway?

“Pregnant Man Gives birth, that’s news, it’s in the Weekly World News”

Frankly I don’t give two shits whether it’s the person they claim to be…i don’t even look at usernames most of the time. I care even less about what some public figure, especially an actor, says.

If a figurehead decides to be active on any social media, I don’t pay attention to that garbage, because that’s what it is.