Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced the trial of Meta Verified, a subscription bundle on Instagram and Facebook offering a verified badge authenticated with an acceptable government I.D, proactive account protection, access to account support and increased visibility and reach.
With initial testing to commence in Australia and New Zealand, Meta said the paid service is intended “to make it easier for people, especially creators, to establish a presence so they can focus on building their communities on Instagram or Facebook”.
As it stands, there will be no change to the status of previously verified accounts but Meta has said their long-term vision is for the meaning of the verified badge to evolve by building a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone and will allow more people to trust that the accounts they interact with are authentic.
New broadcast channels
The announcement of Meta Verified comes days after the company initiated a small-scale launch of Instagram Broadcast Channels, a one-to-many messaging tool which facilitates direct, at scale interaction from creators to their followers.
Introduced via Mark Zuckerberg’s own broadcast channel, testing has commenced with a select group of US creators, with plans for expansion in the near future.
Broadcast channels are currently a one-way messaging platform which allow creators to invite all of their followers into a channel where anything from text, video, photo and voice note updates can be shared, as well as limited two-way interaction through polls.
Meta said the new tool is an additional way for creators to “share behind the scenes updates” and further grow their online presence by creating closer relationships with fans.
Monthly subscriptions for Meta Verified in the trial countries currently cost (USD) $11.99 on the web or (USD) $14.99 on iOS and Android, while Instragram Broadcast Channels are a free addition to the platform and will be rolling out to more creators soon.
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