X has begun "testing a new program (Not-a-Bot) in New Zealand and the Philippines" where "new, unverified accounts will be required to sign up for a $1 annual subscription to be able to post and interact with other posts. Within this test, existing users are not affected". Musk reckons this $1/yr fee is "the only way to fight bots without blocking real users" and while it "won't stop bots completely", "it will be 1000X harder to manipulate the platform". Considering the desperate situation X is in, I don't blame them for trying this out. Will it actually decrease bot activity? Elon will never be honest with the results of this experiment so we will never know.
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