One particular issue has sparked an enormous uproar: his plan to make users pay to have a blue'verified account' check next to their name

Those who were verified will not be allowed to be unless they pay $8 a month for the privilege. Musk defended his decision to allow anyone to buy a blue check despite the fact that it would devalue a marker meant to distinguish real people from fakes.

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has joined the uproar.

Cuban quoted Musk and said that verification should be free at first.

It's possible to offer your verification program for free to those who are the most accurate Notes contributors. It will be hard to confirm accurate. Maybe it can model in accuracy if it tries to model out bias.

Cuban referred to Community Notes as the new name for the Birdwatch feature that allows users to identify potentially misleading information and add context. Community notes would help achieve this.

Cuban was bluntly told by Musk that he would have to pay $8 for all.

$8 for all

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

Backlash over paid verification

Cuban isn't the only high-profile individual who has questions about Musk's change of verification. In October, renowned author Stephen King expressed his horror at the proposal, claiming that he would leave the platform altogether.

Musk responded by maintaining that it had to be done to raise funds, and other supporters of the billionaire have said they believe it will help weed out fake accounts.

Musk has said that many of his changes are due to his commitment to free speech.

The program will drive misinformation rather than make it better.

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