Spotify is rolling out its “Verified on Spotify” badges to podcasts starting Tuesday. The light green badge will indicate that a podcast is officially from a creator, publisher or brand and will appear both on show pages and in search.
Series that get the badge have been reviewed against Spotify’s standards for authenticity and trust. Specifically, the streamer analyzes eligible shows to ensure that they have consistent audience engagement, are in good standing with Spotify’s platform policies and that their audience has been verified as authentic, meaning it’s been proven that it does not have fraudulent or bot-driven listenership. The badges will first appear on a handful of shows and will continue to roll out over the coming months.
“The concept of authenticity in podcasting is complex and quickly evolving, and we’ll continue to develop our approach over time,” a press release for the new protocol reads.
In late April, Spotify rolled out the beta version of its “Verified on Spotify” badges to musical artists. Both the music and the podcasting options help listeners identify when they’re listening to content from fraudulent sources or AI.
The streamer also announced on Tuesday that it will be reinforcing its impersonation policies when it comes to artificial intelligence. Though the company has always prohibited impersonation, Spotify will now remove podcast shows and content that impersonate another creator or host’s likeness without permission whether that’s through using AI or any other method. Listeners can also report channels that are impersonating other creators or channels.
