X, formerly Twitter, to charge new users 1 dollar at sign-up

In a statement issued by the social media giant on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, owner Elon Musk said the move is intended to reduce spam, manipulation on the platform, and bot activity.

“Starting today, we're testing a new programme (Not A Bot) in New Zealand and the Philippines. 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,” the statement read in part.

It further read, “This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform, and bot activity while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount. It is not a profit driver. And so far, subscription options have proven to be the main solution that works at scale.”

This means that new accounts in both countries (the Philippines and New Zealand) will have to sign up for the subscription.

The social media giant also said that people who opt not to subscribe will only be able to read, and nothing more.

“New users who opt out of subscribing will only be able to take “read only” actions, such as read posts, watch videos, and follow accounts.”

Musk bought Twitter last year for a staggering $44 billion.

The world’s richest man has since made several changes to the social media app, among which are paying for the verification badge, allowing publishers to charge people seeking their content, and having two-factor authentication for people with blue badges, among others.

Early this year, the company charged its logo to X, from the bird sign that had been around since it was founded.

Musk revealed this in a tweet on the morning of Sunday, July 23, 2023, on his official Twitter handle.

"And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds," the tweet read.

He revealed that the social media platform will opt for X as its new logo.

"If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make it go live worldwide tomorrow. If X is closest in style to anything, it should, of course, be Art Deco," he revealed.

Many employees of Twitter were also laid off. This move created uncertainty on one of the world’s leading social media platforms.