Clearly, there have been a lot of changes since the takeover of X (formerly Twitter) by Elon Musk! After recently removing from his subscribers the possibility of hiding their blue badge on their profile, the whimsical billionaire plans to charge for messages posted by new users of the platform for a period of three months.
“Unfortunately, “small fees” for new users to have the right to write are the only way to fight against the incessant onslaught of “bots” (automated accounts)”, wrote, Monday April 15, 2024, the boss of the social network.
A (temporary) measure to fight against “bots”
“Today’s artificial intelligences (and troll farms) are too easy to pass the ‘are you a robot?’ test. », he justified, adding that the measure would only apply for a period of three months.
Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in 2022, however, did not specify the amount of these fees, the date of their deployment or the countries concerned.
A precedent at the antipodes
But X has already implemented a similar measure in October 2023 in New Zealand and the Philippines, where new users must pay $0.75 and $0.85 respectively for basic services such as posting messages. Those who refuse only have access to the “read” function of the platform.
This policy already aimed to reduce spam (unsolicited messages) as well as “manipulation of the platform and bot activity”, the network had indicated (fake accounts spreading disinformation and false rumors abound on the platform since its takeover by Elon Musk and the sharp reduction in content moderation).
With revenue at half mast, change in policy
As a result, many advertisers have now deserted March.
Our “X” folder (formerly Twitter)
To counter this phenomenon and generate new revenue, Musk has launched paid plans on X since 2023; first to get a certification badge, then to hide ads.