Musk’s X tests $1 fee for new users in the Philippines and New Zealand in bid to target spam
The company said late Tuesday that it has started trying out the annual subscription method for new and unverified accounts
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has begun charging a $1 fee to new users in the Philippines and New Zealand, in a test designed to cut down on the spam and fake accounts flourishing on the site formerly known as Twitter.
The company said late Tuesday that it has started trying out the annual subscription method for new and unverified accounts. The program, dubbed Not a Bot, won’t apply to existing users.
It’s not clear why it only applies to New Zealand and the Philippines, or why those countries were chosen.
Starting today, we're testing a new program (Not A Bot) in New Zealand and the Philippines. New, unverified accounts will be required to sign up for a $1 annual subscription to be able to post & interact with other posts. Within this test, existing users are not affected.
— Support (@Support) October 17, 2023
This…
“This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount,” the X support account tweeted. “It is not a profit driver.”
Since Musk bought X a year ago, he has introduced a slew of changes such as renaming the platform and gutting its workforce — including its content moderation team.
Outside watchdog groups say the changes have allowed misinformation to thrive on the platform, a problem that exploded after the Israel-Hamas war erupted.
Musk previously turned to premium subscriptions as a tactic to boost the financially struggling platform’s revenue.
We will have to watch this one. Links to actual source data, not some bs press article, are what matter.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2023
Many legacy media organizations have no business model or meaningful circulation anymore – they just exist as propaganda tools for their owners.
One of his first product moves was to shake up the site’s blue check verification system by launching a service granting checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. A flood of impostor accounts forced the service’s temporary suspension days after launch.
Under the test, new subscribers will get access to basic functions like posting content, liking or bookmarking posts, and reposting, quoting or replying to posts from other accounts.
The platform said new users who don’t subscribe will only be able to read posts, watch videos and follow other accounts.
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