Twitter is removing the much-coveted verified status of users who post racist and hateful material, the company said Wednesday.

The decision to remove the verification—displayed on user profiles as a blue badge with a check mark to signify significant “public interest”— comes amid intense criticism of the company’s policing of posts on its service. Over the past few days, critics had slammed Twitter for verifying the account of Jason Kessler, who helped organize a high-profile white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, during which three people were killed amid widespread violence.

Twitter (TWTR, -0.67%) said it is now reviewing an unspecified number of verified accounts and will remove the verified status if it discovers that people violate its new guidelines. Those include sending tweets that promote hate or violence against people based on their race, sexual orientation, and religion, among other criteria.

Several users, including Kessler and white supremacist Richard Spencer, have already complained on Twitter about their losing their verified status.

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