X, formerly Twitter, has announced that it will charge new users of the platform $1 per year in the Philippines and New Zealand. The program, called “Not A Bot,” aims to reduce the number of bots (automated accounts) and thus limit “spam and manipulation” of the social network. Paying this symbolic annual subscription “is not aimed at generating profits,” the company says, but because subscriptions “have proven to be the most important solution that works at scale” against the use of bots.
Starting today we are testing a new program (Not A Bot) in New Zealand and the Philippines. New, unverified accounts must sign up for a $1 annual subscription to post and interact with others. Existing users are not affected by this test.
Este…
– Support (@Support) October 17, 2023
The platform still allows the creation of new accounts However, without paying the subscription, you cannot interact: neither publish, like nor repost. The only options allowed for new free accounts are read-only and subsequent accounts. Bots can apparently still be used to increase the number of followers, but no longer to distribute content.
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Elon Musk, owner of the platform, has examined the possibility of all X users paying to use the social network. A few weeks ago, in an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said he was considering charging existing users “a small monthly fee” to eliminate bots.
The decision of One of Musk’s most promoted countermeasures, the Community Notes, also announced today that from now on the notes will require “sources” with links. “We have not previously required this because some notes do not require attribution,” the company said in a statement. “But these cases are occurring less frequently and we believe the overall impact of this change will be positive,” he adds.
We have to look at that. What is important are links to actual source data and not to any BBS press article.
Many legacy media organizations no longer have a business model or meaningful distribution – they only serve as propaganda tools for their owners.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2023
Musk responded to his company’s announcement by recalling his particular crusade against traditional media: “We have to keep an eye on it. What matters are links to real data sources, not some silly news article. “Many media organizations no longer have a business model or significant distribution: they merely serve as propaganda tools for their owners,” he wrote in X.
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