Elon Musk is considering making everyone pay to use Twitter
Twitter might introduce a payment system for its users soon
Elon Musk during a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. The discussion involved the President and co-founder of OpenAI,
Greg Brockman, and physicist Max Tegmark, focusing on topics like the future of technology and concerns related to artificial intelligence.
Bloomberg reporter Dave Lee noted that Musk briefly mentioned his vision for the future direction of Twitter/X.
"The single most important reason that we’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system is that it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots," he said (via Social Media Today).
"Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny, or a tenth of a penny, but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high, and then you also have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot.”
Musk clarified that implementing a payment system for every user is the sole solution to eliminate bots from the platform.
He mentioned that this payment tier would be more affordable than the current premium option, which costs $8 per month.
Since assuming control of Twitter/X, Musk has consistently prioritized the removal of accounts operated by fake or spam entities.
He emphasized this commitment when he initially announced his intention to acquire the social media platform, underscoring his determination to create a bot-free environment.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in a press release.
"I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."
However, an analysis done following the first Republican primary debate of 2023 discovered bot activity is 'worse than ever'.
Associate professor Dr Timothy Graham told the Guardian Australia: "It is clear that X is not doing enough to moderate content and has no clear strategy for dealing with political disinformation."
He said there were more than 1,000 accounts spreading disinformation as the primary debate was unfolding.
It happened at the same time Donald Trump was also being interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
The tweets from these accounts were viewed by more than three million users, showing how amplified these messages can be.
It's unclear when Musk wants to implement the payment method for all users or if he'll be able to get approval for it to happen.
But it could be a humungous watershed moment for the platform and turn away loads of people if they have to pay for it.
Well, let's see where this road leads to Twitter or X could be at a revolutionary point.
