How do you know when a twitter account is real?

[Onissa Mccarley]

I follow a lot of celebrities on twitter and they all have a blue check mark next to the name does that mean that they are the real celebrities

[starlightt]

Yes, this means they are verified by twitter, lots of real celebs are still not verified though, it is normally easy to tell if they are official by the amount of followers they have, and who they tweet etc, for example @_ClaireRichards isn't verified, but you know it's her because of who she tweets, and also the photo's she uploads. People who pretend to be someone they aren't just need to get a life really.

[theanswer]

They usually have whats known as a verified badge

The Verified Badge will appear in the top-right portion of a user's profile page just above the name, location, and bio—as shown in the screenshot above.
The Verified Badge cannot be used unless it is provided by Twitter. Accounts using a badge as part of profile pictures, background images, or in any way implying false verification will be permanently suspended.

Also, the amount of followers they have usually spots a fake profile since the number of followers is very low.