By Zuko Komisa
Meta to charge R 216 a month for verification blue badge on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, wants power users to start paying for certain capabilities on its platforms, following Twitter’s lead and charging for verified blue checkmarks.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, posts on Facebook and Instagram published on Sunday, a new subscription service called Meta Verified will be made available this week in Australia and New Zealand and will soon be extended to additional nations.
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The company said it would cost US$11.99 (R 216) a month on web or US$14.99 (R 270) on iOS and Android.

To avoid the embarrassment of accounts impersonating people and brands, as happened when Twitter first put out its paid verification service, Meta said it would rely on government ID credentials to authenticate the identity of verified accounts.
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