Guess it’s time to get ticked. It seems like Zuckerberg is in agreement with Elon Musk. Using Instagram’s new broadcast feature, Meta’s CEO announced Meta Verified. The new “verified” program will cover all Meta-related services including Instagram and Facebook.
Meta Verified users will be identifiable with a blue tick that appears next to their name. However, that’s not all that users are paying for. Meta Verified will also allow paying users to have enhanced protection against impersonation with proactive account monitoring by the company. This, of course, is meant for people with large, growing audiences that have increasingly become lures for scams. Meta is also promising live, on-demand help and more ways to express yourself as a verified user.
However, the most jarring feature is the promised increased visibility and reach on their platforms. In the official announcement, Meta states that verified users will have “Increased visibility and reach with prominence in some areas of the platform– like search, comments and recommendations.”. This is concerning given that Meta has already dramatically capped organic reach to help push its ads platform. Does this guarantee mean that unverified users and brands will be further suppressed and forced to pay?
For now, the company assures users that their verified badges will remain as they build a more valuable subscription option. Meta Verified is rolling out in a testing phase in Australia and New Zealand for AUD 19.99 on the web, AUD 24.99 on iOS and Android; NZD 23.99 on the web, and NZD 29.99 on iOS and Android. Pricing from Zuckerberg shows that it will cost users USD$11.99 on the web and USD$14.99 on iOS and Android.
