Elon Musk has done it: a Twitter exclusively for paying customers

The era of the paywall has arrived on Twitter. The former social network of freedom of expression and news has decided to launch a feature…

Not a day goes by when we don’t wonder if Twitter would be better off without Elon Musk as its owner and president. Despite no longer being the CEO of the company, he still makes the decisions, and that has become synonymous with disaster.

Twitter DOWNLOAD

The latest twist on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter and led by Elon Musk, is that users can now block unverified accounts from responding to their posts.

This change comes about 11 months after Musk introduced paid verification for Twitter Blue, assigning blue verification labels to individuals willing to pay $7.99 per month.

It also means it could be harder for those who don’t pay for the service (with the exception of accounts required to be verified) to refute misinformation, which researchers say has continued to rise.

The excuse: “I don’t want to talk to bots”

There is an argument that limiting responses to verified accounts through payment, phone numbers, or even government identification could reduce harassment, trolling, and misinformation.

However, that argument quickly falls apart, either due to the continued presence of verified bots or with a quick look at the current state of the platform.

As X already prioritizes responses from verified accounts, it is easy to assess the quality of threads populated by posters with paid verification badges. One response to X’s post announcing the feature, from “Dave the reply guy,” cheerfully called it “pay to win mode.”

Undoubtedly, Elon Musk’s goal is to make all Twitter users pay, thereby making the social network profitable. However, in order to achieve this, he is dismantling everything that made Twitter gain hundreds of millions of daily users.

We’ll see; time is proving him wrong with every decision.

Twitter DOWNLOAD

Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia

{ "de-DE": "Journalist, spezialisiert auf Technologie, Unterhaltung und Videospiele. Über das zu schreiben, was mich begeistert (Gadgets, Spiele und Filme), ermöglicht es mir, bei Verstand zu bleiben und mit einem Lächeln im Gesicht aufzuwachen, wenn der Wecker klingelt. PS: Das stimmt nicht 100% der Zeit.", "en-US": "Journalist specialized in technology, entertainment and video games. Writing about what I'm passionate about (gadgets, games and movies) allows me to stay sane and wake up with a smile on my face when the alarm clock goes off. PS: this is not true 100% of the time.", "es-ES": "Content Manager - Periodista especializado en tecnología, entretenimiento y videojuegos. Escribir sobre lo que me apasiona (cacharros, juegos y cine) me permite seguir cuerdo y despertarme con una sonrisa cuando suena el despertador. PD: esto no es cierto el 100 % de las veces.", "fr-FR": "Journaliste spécialisé dans la technologie, le divertissement et les jeux vidéo. Écrire sur ce qui me passionne (gadgets, jeux et films) me permet de rester sain d'esprit et de me réveiller avec le sourire aux lèvres quand le réveil sonne. PS : cela n'est pas vrai 100 % du temps.", "it-IT": "Giornalista specializzato in tecnologia, intrattenimento e videogiochi. Scrivere di ciò che mi appassiona (gadget, giochi e film) mi permette di mantenere la sanità mentale e di svegliarmi con un sorriso sul viso quando suona la sveglia. PS: questo non è vero al 100% del tempo.", "ja-JP": "", "nl-NL": "", "pl-PL": "", "pt-BR": "Jornalista especializado em tecnologia, entretenimento e videogames. Escrever sobre o que me apaixona (gadgets, jogos e filmes) me permite manter a sanidade e acordar com um sorriso no rosto quando o despertador toca. PS: isso não é verdade 100% do tempo.", "social": { "email": "chemacs91@gmail.com", "facebook": "", "twitter": "https://twitter.com/chematopetazo", "linkedin": "" } }