X to Test a Yearly Fee , for Unverified Accounts.<br />On Oct. 17, X announced a pilot program <br />called "Not a Bot," CNN reports.<br />The program will require new X users in <br />New Zealand and the Philippines to pay <br />a $1 yearly fee to use the platform.<br />The fee will only apply to new web accounts and <br />will be waived if users subscribe to the premium subscription service, which costs $3.99 per month. .<br />Users can opt out of either fee, but will then only <br />be able to read posts, not interact with them.<br />Existing users will not be affected by the change.<br />According to X, the program is intended to "bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation <br />of our platform and bot activity, while balancing <br />platform accessibility with the small fee amount.".<br />However, some experts say that bad actors are willing to pay subscription fees to maintain inauthentic accounts.<br />Such entities could also pay to have an account verified and then let a bot run it, CNN reports.<br />Over the past week, X has been scrutinized for allegedly allowing misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war to be posted.<br />The platform says that it has reportedly removed "hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts.".<br />X CEO Linda Yaccarino said that "X is… addressing identified fake and manipulated content during this constantly evolving and shifting crisis," CNN reports
