HubSpot: The Rise of Paid Verification on Social Media

HubSpot just issued a new insightful article:

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team.  Having a verified account on social media was once seen as a point of notoriety or a status symbol. Now, it’s a commodity that can be purchased. Verifying social media accounts began on Twitter in 2009. Tony La Russa, then manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, filed a lawsuit against Twitter after a user created an impersonation account and shared insensitive tweets. Though the suit was eventually dropped, it led Twitter to launch its Account Verification process giving verified accounts blue check marks as a symbol of authenticity for notable businesses or public figures. The goal was to make impersonation harder to achieve. Instagram followed suit and began verifying accounts in 2014. Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is

Continued here: The Rise of Paid Verification on Social Media