That's probably where the reputation part would come in - fair enough. Still, a large wealthy company might consider creating an "unaffiliated" front company to act on their behalf. For example, take out a legit open source competitor by having the front publish a mediocre bogus project with very similar name. Or paying a small fee to bundle malware into a legit FOSS.

So, similar to Twitter's blue check mark - Yes, asking a "small fee" adds friction, but it's not an obstacle to the wealthy.