'An Assembly Line for Instagram Verification': Investigation Reveals $25,000 Payment Scheme for Blue Checks

Hundreds of people have been verified on Instagram over the past year thanks to a scheme that charged people $25,000 for a blue check on the social media site that arrived in about 45 days, according to a ProPublica survey released Wednesday.

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'It was an assembly line for Instagram verification,' the outlet wrote.

The crux of the matter is that verification on the platform can help people generate real money in the form of branded offers.

ProPublica reports that they've discovered a system that would create Spotify and Apple Music profiles, fake news articles, and Google Knowledge Panels for people, turning them into seemingly believable "artists."

The music was sometimes just repetitive beats or even literal silence with artists who had names like "rhusgls stadlhvs", according to the survey. Then when a person went to ask for verification on Instagram, they seemed like a real musician.

"You can create a Spotify account or an Apple Music account and boost streams and get some really cheap fake music press. It's quick and easy," an anonymous source told the outlet.

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Many of these types of operations have announced themselves on the dark web or Telegram, ProPublica added.

With secure verification, the customer could continue on Instagram as normal – selling jewelry, being a famous plastic surgeon, etc., the outlet reported.

One person whose online business followed this pattern, ProPublica wrote, was Martin Jugenburg, a very online plastic surgeon. The doctor had his license suspended for six months last year for filming people without their consent.

But he was still capable of being a "musician" online (in articles like these) the outlet noted.

"Umbrella" will blow away fans of DJ Dr. 6ix. Since its release, the song has done wonders for him and his career,” the “article” reads.

As to who is responsible, there has been some controversy. ProPublica reported that it was able to find the ringleader of the operation through recordings and conversations with customers, as well as information from social media platforms - Dillon Shamoun, a DJ in Miami who allegedly marketed the brightly lit program in its own city.

However, Shamoun told ProPublica that influencer Adam Quinn was in charge of all of this and set him up, but refused to provide it, saying he had signed NDAs.

Quinn acknowledged he helped the effort in a "legal letter" to the point of sale.

Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram, told the outlet it had evidence that Shamoun and Quinn were involved and sent cease and desist letters and deleted verifications of the affected accounts.< /p>

Paying for verification is against Meta and Instagram rules.

Spotify told ProPublica that it "removed the content in question that we found to be manipulated" and that "fraud is an industry-wide issue that we take very seriously."

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Apple Music removed profiles like the ones ProPublica referenced in its reports but did not respond to requests for comment, the outlet added.