Elon Musk of New York (CNN) has announced Twitter’s latest push to get people to pay $84 a year for the social network: Twitter will only promote the tweets of paid subscribers, and non-subscribers will not be allowed to participate in polls participate.
Twitter’s “For You” tab, the first screen users see when they open the app, curates tweets using an algorithm. This means it may show up tweets from people you don’t follow. The For You tab will soon only recommend people who pay for the premium Twitter Blue service.
“Starting April 15, only verified accounts can be included in For You recommendations,” he announced in a tweet monday evening “This is the only realistic way to approach the takeover of advanced AI bot swarms. Otherwise it’s a hopeless fight against a losing battle. Voting in polls requires verification for the same reason.”
Appearing in the “For You” feed helps users increase their follower count. Voting in polls doesn’t bring the same benefits to users, but blocking voting may prompt some to sign up for the paid service.
Musk frequently posts his own polls on Twitter, all asking users whether he should step down from his position as CEO of the platform or sell Tesla (TSLA) shares.
Though Musk said Twitter is making the change to fight with bot accounts, he later said tweeted “That said, it’s okay to have verified bot accounts if they follow the terms of service and aren’t impersonating a human.”
It’s part of Musk’s plans to get Twitter out of its near-total reliance on advertising money for its revenue. A significant portion of Twitter’s ad base has left the platform since Musk took over in October.
Last week, Musk announced that users who had a free blue tick — typically government officials, celebrities, members of the media, and other high-profile users — would lose that free review beginning in April unless they agree to pay a subscription fee — either $84 annually or $8 per month.
Musk and actor William Shatner clashed on Twitter over the weekend when Shatner objected to the idea of paying for the tick.
“Hey @elonmusk, what’s this about blue checks going away if we don’t pay Twitter?” Schatner tweeted. “I’ve been here for 15 years giving my time and witty thoughts to Bupkis. Now you’re telling me I have to pay for something you gave me for free?”
musk answered to Shatner in a tweet on Sunday: “It’s more about treating everyone equally. There should be no other standard for celebrities.”