Facebook has launched its own version of Verified accounts following the lead of Twitter who introduced their verified status in 2009. Verified Facebook Pages and Profiles are indicated with a circular blue badge containing a white check mark that looks like the Nike swoosh logo. Twitter’s verified symbol is very similar with a lighter blue. The badge is displayed on the Page, Profile and in search results.
Facebook made the announced as follows, “Verified Pages will help people find the authentic accounts of celebrities and other high-profile people and businesses on Facebook. This update is rolling out to profiles as well.”
Having the Verified badge demonstrates to Facebook users that the Page or Profile they are viewing is the genuine brand or high profile person and not a fake or parody account.
There is a certain amount of kudos attached to having a Verified account on Twitter and the same will probably be true on Facebook as well. This is mainly because display of the badge is entirely at the discretion of the social network; you can’t request to be Verified.
The recent introduction of the Follower feature indicates that Facebook (like Twitter) is keen to become a source of news and information, so having verified news source Pages eg Sky News Arabia and journalists (Verified Profiles are coming soon) makes sense.