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New Zealand: Twitter, known as X, which used to be a free to use social media platform, will soon start charging money from new users. Elon Musk announced that newcomers to X will be required to pay a “small” fee for activities such as liking, posting, replying, and bookmarking tweets. Notable, account X daily news, which regularly posts update about news related to X was the first to notice that new users will be charged.
The decision to impose fees on new users follows a testing phase in New Zealand and the Philippines. The move aims to address issues of spam and enhance user experience on the platform. The account noted that the website’s textual content has been revised to indicate that new users are required to pay a nominal yearly charge to gain access to the social network.
Musk, responding to the tweet said, “Unfortunately, a small fee for new user writing access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots. Current AI (and troll farms) can pass “are you a bot” with ease.” he added,“The onslaught of fake accounts also uses up the available namespace, so many good handles are taken as a result.”
Elon Musk defended the decision, citing the need to combat spam bots, which have plagued the platform but he di not reveal how X plans to go about it and how it will prevent fake accounts and automated bots because those who send spam might just pay the small fee or make many accounts and wait until they can post messages.
Normal users might not want to use the social network X because they have to do more to sign up, and also because they can use other social networks without paying anything. Currently implemented in New Zealand and the Philippines, the fee is estimated to be around $1, based on the $1.75 charge in New Zealand currency.
Elon Musk has been vocal about his concerns regarding spam and bot accounts on Twitter, emphasizing the need for transparency and accuracy in user metrics. He believes that inflated user numbers due to bots could mislead advertisers and investors, calling for greater transparency and accuracy in user metrics.
