It's in a social media company's best interest for its user base to easily find and distinguish between Matt Smith the famous actor and the thousands of other Matt Smiths, especially the ones who might try to fake being the famous Matt Smith for shits and giggles and/or profit. "Verification" is definitely the wrong term for it, but if companies could come up with a different verb that didn't make even more obvious the divide between "important" people and the rest, they would have by now.
However, doesn't this "IsFamous" label break down when multiple famous people share a name. No obvious example spring to mind, but it surely must happen...
Seems like it would be more useful to have some kind of more general labelling system, where you could be 'verified' as (say) a famous actor, and/or musician, or whatever. Then people could distinguish not only the famous Matt Smith from the unfamous, but also the painter Matt Smith, and so on.
I mean, Michael B. Jordan is a good example of why you don't have a good example. Even if you share the name, you have to differentiate it somehow to be marketable.
As a sibling of yours points out, it's not just for marketing: the US actors' union does not allow active (or potentially inactive) members to share a name.
Michael B. Jordan has the B because Michael Jordan has a SAG card from his movie work.
