NBC News reported on Thursday that Elon Musk, as Twitter's new owner, is changing the social media site's blue check mark verification system such that, if a user wants to have or keep the check mark, he or she will have to pay for it.  

Suffice it to say that some users are not too happy about the change.

The old verification system

Forbes, referring to the old system, reports:

The free program was used to authenticate “notable” accounts belonging to users like celebrities, politicians, influencers, and journalists, as well as accounts belonging to broader entities like companies, brands, and governments. [It also]  required users to validate their identity and affiliation . . .

Additionally, under the old verification system, some accounts - such as parody, fan, and news feed accounts - were not eligible to receive the blue check verification.

This, however, is all changing.

The new verification system

Twitter made the announcement on Thursday.

On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOpLp

Organizations can sign up for https://t.co/RlN5BbuGA3…

— Twitter Verified (@verified) March 23, 2023

Twitter, in a separate information page, has provided more details about the new verification system. Musk has also provided further details through his own Twitter account, including how much the verification will cost.

To get Blue Verified for $7/month, sign up via web browser at https://t.co/JUTlIcVsSe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2023

Some of the biggest changes regard organizations. Twitter, in fact, created a separate information page, documenting the changes, just for organizations looking to get verified. The changes include different color verification marks depending on the type of organization that it is and the automatic verification of a user whose Twitter account is affiliated with a verified organization.

The backlash

Musk is now facing all sorts of criticism for the changes.

The criticism ranges from complaints about the cost of getting verified to the fact that anyone, including the average Twitter user, can now get verified. Many users do not seem to be happy about the fact that verification is an option for any user who is willing to pay the $7 per month price.

None of this criticism, however, is new. It is the same criticism that Musk has been receiving since he first took Twitter over and announced that he was looking to have a subscription verification service.

It remains to be seen how the new verification system will affect Twitter, if at all.