Social Networks Go Verified Accounts

Celebrities and other public figures will soon have the ability to verify their accounts and display a preferred “alternative name,” TechCrunch reports.

In an effort to stop impostors, Facebook will reportedly soon allow celebrities and other public figures to verify their accounts in much the same way that Twitter does.

The social network will begin notifying public figures with many subscribers that they can verify their accounts by submitting an image of a government-issued ID, allowing them to display a preferred pseudonym instead of their birth name, according to a TechCrunch report. Facebook will then manually approve the “alternative names” to confirm they are the real stage names or pen names.

Facebook users must be chosen to participate in the program; there is no way to volunteer for verification. However, unlike Twitter, verified accounts will not receive a special badge indicating verified status.

Verification will allow celebrities to be more readily accessible to fans when using their stage names instead of what is officially listed on their birth certificates. The program will also gain more prominent placement in the “People To Subscribe To” section.

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