Ahhh Facebook... the land of a FREE social media service... right? WRONG! According to recent research, Facebook is charging users $15 to message popular users on Facebook. Here's the funny part too, popular users aren't just celebrities. 

Several news outlets are reporting that Facebook is now rolling out paid messaging in the U.K. and thirty-six other countries. Apparently it is has already been happening here in the United States.

Without announcement, Facebook upped the price for some messages to $5 and even $15. "At the time of announcing the test we let people know we would be testing a variety of prices," Facebook told BuzzFeed. "The highest price we are currently testing in the US is $15, but this is still a test and these prices are not set in stone. We have tested a range of different prices so far."

Facebook told Buzzfeed the price is based solely on the number of followers someone has. So this means that it isn't limited to traditional celebrities.

It costs £10.68 (around $16.30) for U.K. users to message diver Tom Daley and singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran's apparently fake account. Yet, I, a US user, can contact them for free. However, I have to pay $15 to message each of three very different popular users: Snoop Dogg, Salman Rushdie, and Neal Mann, social media editor of the Wall Street Journal. I can message Vin Diesel, however, who has over 40,500,000 likes, without charge."

More of a reason to switch to Twitter anyways!

More From 96.1 The Eagle