Facebook pages belonging to well-known public figures and pages with large followings (celebrities, journalists, government officials, popular brands and businesses) will now get an added feature to verify their authenticity.
Much like Twitter’s verified accounts, a small, blue check mark next will appear next to their names, indicating that it is a verified page. Facebook appears to be a taking a leaf straight out of Twitter’s book, as it seeks to curtail fake accounts. Users who hover their mouse over the blue badge on a verified account will see the words “Verified Page”. This feature will appear on timelines, in search results, and elsewhere on Facebook.
But Facebook’s verified status won’t be offered to everyone. Verified accounts will be specifically available to public figures with large audiences, namely, celebrities, government officials, popular brands, and some journalists.
In the latest update to their help centre, Facebook noted that “not all authentic profiles and pages are verified and that users can’t request to have your profile or Page verified”. The team at Facebook added that while they are currently proactively verifying authentic pages and profiles, users can continue to report on impersonations.
