It is no secret that X (formerly Twitter) has been flooded with spam and fake news for years, which are mass-produced by bots. When Elon Musk took over the company in 2022, he announced that fighting this phenomenon would be one of his priorities.
A year has passed and not much has changed when it comes to bots. The website is still bursting at the seams with fake accounts that are causing chaos on the platform and making it increasingly difficult to find valuable information on X. Therefore, at the end of September, Elon Musk announced that he was considering introducing fees for all users, not only for subscribers of the X Premium service.
– This requires a longer discussion, but in my opinion this solution is actually the only defense against huge armies of bots – during a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in San Francisco. According to the billionaire, even small fees can discourage the use of bots on X.
X paid in two countries. Paid subscription tests have started
In recent days, the issue of introducing fees for an X account has gained momentum. – Philippines and New Zealand.
New, unverified accounts will be required to purchase a $1 annual subscription to post and interact with other posts
– Elon Musk himself announced in an entry posted on X. The billionaire noted that these tests only apply to new users and do not affect existing accounts.
This new test has been prepared to support our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing the accessibility of the platform through a small fee. Its introduction is not dictated by the desire for profit.
– added Elon Musk.
The new owner of X launched the X Premium subscription in November 2022. In exchange for a monthly subscription of $8, users receive an account verification badge, as well as the ability to create longer entries (in June, the character limit was increased to 25,000 characters!), edit them later, and even earn money from the content they publish.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
