Reddit Introducing Verification Labels for Brands
Reddit is currently conducting early tests on its platform for verification badges, introducing a fresh “Official” label. As per a Reddit admin’s post, this new label is exclusively accessible to a limited number of organizations (numbering in the double digits) that already have established connections with Reddit. The label will be displayed alongside their usernames, much like the current implementation of flairs.
Reddit clarifies that this should not be taken as an endorsement or promotion by it, and is simply to identify genuine brand accounts. “The badge is a visual indicator of a verified profile and does not unlock any special privileges or protections. This new ‘Official’ badge should not be confused with the current ‘Promoted’ badge, which is still our (only) indicator of a paid ad,” says Reddit.
It’s worth noting that this is Reddit’s test, and it’s unclear if the company plans to expand the program to more than just businesses. Reddit seems to be taking a classic Twitter approach and manually vetting brands at the moment. This is unlike other platforms like Instagram that allow users to pay for their respective verification badges. However, it’s possible that Reddit will switch to the latter method when it needs to start verifying both users and brands.
Reddit has had a rough few months as the company has changed its API rules. Third-party developers used Reddit’s APIs to build thousands of apps that connect to the social media platform. With the shutdown, many subreddits closed or restricted access to protest the change. And of the subreddits that were forced to open, some began marking all new posts as NSFW, preventing Reddit from monetizing them.
