However, the verification procedure that the social-networking giant has opted is very much identical to Twitter’s: you cannot volunteer yourself to be verified; Facebook itself will choose which users have this option and notify them through their profile, TechCrunch said.
Facebook will manually sanction “alternative names” to make sure individuals are really the celebrities, politicians, journalists, and so on they claim they are. Once an account is verified, the user will then earn a more prominent placement in Facebook’s “People To Subscribe To” suggestions.
Soon, the social network will begin notifying some of its users, notably those with many subscribers, that they can verify their identity by tendering a government-issued photo ID, allowing them to exhibit their 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.
According to another popular tech site Mashable, besides, users can also tender two forms of alternate IDs (such as credit cards and birth certificates) instead of a government-issued photo ID. Facebook says the IDs will be deleted after an account is verified.
For instance, celebrities who are known by stage names include Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Katy Perry, and 50 Cent. Under the new system, Lady Gaga will be able to display her name as either “Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga)” or “Lady Gaga.” Similarly, Snoop Dogg will be either “Calvin Broadus (Snoop Dogg)” or “Snoop Dogg.”
Verified Facebook users will also earn a more prominent place in “People To Subscribe To” section, such as Stefani Germanotta to be more promptly accessible to fans when her name is officially listed as Lady Gaga instead of what is on a birth certificate. The social media giant introduced the “Subscribe” feature last September as a way for users to “follow” people they are interested in–such as celebrities, journalists, and other public figures–without having to be their Facebook friend.
However, as on Twitter, the influx of impostors has become an inconvenience for both Facebook and fans alike. Hence, this move is also an attempt to prevent the potential problem of impostors and scammers abusing other people’s names on Facebook, which is already a big issue even without the ability to use pseudonyms. Besides, the move also indicates that Facebook is pointing yet another gun at Twitter, which allows you to use any name you want and is very popular among celebrities.