Ever since he took over Twitter (now called X), Elon Musk has had an obsession: eliminating the bots that abound on the network. Unfortunately for now this is a dismal failure because they continue to proliferate. To try to solve the problem, Musk decided to charge new users.
This new program, announced at X (obviously), is called Not a Bot and currently applies to the Philippines and New Zealand. Internet users who sign up to the network will need to verify both their phone numbers and we pay a symbolic dollar a year for the ability to post and retweet.
Elon Musk wants to charge Twitter users
Interestingly, this system applies only to the web version of the network, and not on the mobile app. Likewise, we do not know why these two countries were specifically targeted. Is this a full-scale test for international distribution, or a simple tactical strike against the two countries with the most bots? Mystery.
Put it this way, a dollar a year seems insignificant. But, This decision represents an admission of great weakness In the fight against bots that continue to proliferate. What’s more, giving your credit card number to a supposedly free social network isn’t necessarily the best tactic for attracting customers. Of course, X now has a paid subscription (Blue), but it’s still entirely possible to use it without spending a dime.
This announcement further undermines the network’s increasingly murky reputation. Lately, X was chosen for the treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, He is accused of leaving horrific videos online and promoting fake news. Such a failure that European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton took up the issue, demanding tighter controls on online content.
No matter what, X continues to sink slowly but surely, It is increasingly gaining a reputation as web garbage. A situation that benefits rival social networks such as Threads or BlueSky.
Starting today, we are 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 share and interact with other posts. Existing users are not affected in this test.
This…
— Support (@Support) 17 October 2023
