Influencer backlash as Instagram allows Australian users to buy blue ticks
Influencer strikes back as Instagram lets Australian users buy blue checkmarks in ‘absolutely outrageous’ move
Australian influencers who worked hard for Instagram verification are criticizing the Meta-owned platform’s move to allow anyone to buy blue brands.
A former Married At First Sight star, who campaigned for years to bring back a blue tick when Instagram had to approve all verified accounts, called the decision “absolutely outrageous” and an insult to genuine celebrities.
Nasser Sultan, 55, posted an angry video on Tuesday calling out to Instagram.
‘I worked three years to get mine and now you can buy it. The blue tick means nothing now,” she said.
Instead, he suggested a tiered system in which ‘real celebrities’ upgrade to a gold badge, while those who purchase verification get a standard blue tick.
MAFS star Nasser Sultan (pictured), who campaigned for three years to get a blue tick on Instagram, criticized the website’s ‘outrageous’ decision to allow users to buy verification.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last month that Instagram would be launching a new paid verification subscription service called Meta Verified.
Coming soon, for $20 a month on the web and $25 on iOS, users will be able to pay to become a verified user, which will include, among other things, a blue verification badge.
Sultan said the credibility of influencers would suffer from this move, which allows anyone to become one simply by paying the fee.
“Now anyone can buy that blue brand and pretend they are an influencer. He is not Australian,” he said.
Sultan said the credibility of influencers would suffer from this move, which allows anyone to become one simply by paying the fee.
MAFS star Rhyce Power also protested the decision, saying he had seen non-public figures buy blue ticks to gain influence.
It comes after Sultan was caught red-handed buying some 40,000 fake followers.
The 55-year-old has 91,400 followers on the social media platform, but in September it was discovered that almost half of them are bots.
The former personal trainer’s follower count grew by more than 40,000 people from August 2021 to August 2022, he reported. yahoo lifestyle.
Instagram users can buy thousands of bot profiles to follow for as little as $40, in an attempt to become more popular.
MAFS star Rhyce Power (pictured) also protested the decision, saying he had seen non-public figures buy blue ticks for influence.