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Social networking site Facebook has introduced new ‘verified accounts’, to protect the reputations of celebrities, athletes, and other public figures and agencies.
The move follows suit from rival microblogging service Twitter, which initiated its verified accounts programme in June 2009. Like Twitter, Facebook will stamp a small blue symbol near a person or page’s name to authenticate it.
The announcement has stirred a response from Twitter’s CEO, Dick Costolo. During the recent D: All Things Digital Conference in California, US, he said: “Twitter wants to be the place where people go to for the whole ‘timeline’ experience.” However, the verification process isn’t airtight just yet. Twitter made headlines earlier this year when it mistakenly verified the account of a user claiming to be Wendi Murdoch, the wife of News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch.
There is no way to directly request verification, with Facebook reaching out to those it believes require it. The company will ask to see government-issued photo ID as part of the verification process, which it promises to delete immediately after.
“Verified Pages belong to a small group of prominent public figures (celebrities, journalists, government officials, popular brands and businesses) with large audiences. This update is rolling out to profiles as well,” Facebook said on its company blog.
Facebook says it will work proactively to verify pages and profiles and users can report fake accounts if they see someone else has staked a claim on their identity.
