Hot on the heels of Twitter launching their pay-monthly scheme, which allows those signed up to be given a blue verification tick, Meta has announced that Instagram and Facebook will be launching something very similar.
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Meta Verified is a new subscription bundle, that includes:

☑️ A verified badge
🪪 Authenticating your account with government ID
🤳 Proactive account protection
🧑💻 Access to account support from a real person
💥 Increased visibility and reach
🏆 Exclusive features

The bundle will roll out in Australia and New Zealand later this week, with hopes to bring it to the rest of the world “soon”.
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While an increase in visibility could be a great thing for up and coming creators, and those wanting to further elevate their online presence, how will this affect previously verified accounts?
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Though Meta has stated those previously verified won’t be affected in the short term, creators who spent years working towards a blue tick may feel differently, and may be less favoured over those who are willing to pay monthly.
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While previously a verified badge informed a brand's decision to work with a creator, or allowed creators to leverage higher rates for collaborations; the ever rising ‘de-influencing’ is further disrupting the relevance of the blue tick, and third party influencer credibility tools allow brands to dive into the details of creator audiences before they choose to form a partnership. So is a blue tick relevant anymore?
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Meta have stated long term they want to evolve the meaning of the verified badge, building an offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and their community at large.
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All in all, it seems like a significant shift in how the biggest social media platforms are thinking about users - and which ones could potentially be given special treatment.