Twitter to start charging $20 per month for verified users: report

In one of his first moves at Twitter, Elon Musk is moving to charge users $20 per month to be verified on the social media platform, The Verge reported.

The reported move to charge for blue checkmarks drew widespread criticism among users.

Twitter employees have until Nov. 7 to launch the new subscription feature, or they will be fired, Musk reportedly told the staff on Sunday. 

Users who are already verified will have 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue checkmarks.

Musk tweeted on Sunday that “the whole verification process is being revamped right now.”

The billionaire mogul officially took over Twitter on Thursday night after a contentious legal battle over his $44 billion bid to buy the social media platform.

Shortly after taking control of the company, Musk fired Twitter’s top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal. 

The Washington Post previously reported that Musk planned to cut nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s workforce after acquiring the platform, though he has denied that figure.

Musk has also indicated that he wants to pull back some content moderation policies, and researchers say hate speech and disinformation have already increased in recent days.

Musk also plans to allow former President Trump back on the platform as he seeks to end lifetime Twitter bans.

Trump was banned from Twitter last year after tweets he posted on the platform that incited violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.