Twitter has halted account verification temporarily saying the process was "broken".

In a tweet, it said, "Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognise that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon."

Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey ( @jack ) said: "We should’ve communicated faster on this (yesterday): our agents have been following our verification policy correctly, but we realised some time ago the system is broken and needs to be reconsidered. And we failed by not doing anything about it. Working now to fix faster."

The move comes on the heels of the surprise verification of the account of Jason Kessler, organiser of the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally.

Heather Heyer, a counter-protester, died after a suspected Nazi sympathiser James Alex Fields Jr. plowed his vehicle into a crowd of people. Kessler, in a tweet said the woman, was “a fat, disgusting Communist” and “Looks like it was payback time.”

Twitter's move comes on the heels of Kessler's account getting verified, sparking outrage.

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