DThe use of the online platform X, formerly known as Twitter, may no longer be free in the near future. Elon Musk, the owner of the company, stated on Monday that he could imagine a „small“ monthly fee being charged to all users in order to combat fake user accounts, known as bots. „That is the only way I can think of to address massive bot armies.“
Bots werden Nutzerkonten genannt, die nicht direkt von menschlichen Nutzern, sondern von Computerprogrammen betrieben werden. Auf X gibt es viele solcher automatisch generierter Accounts, die dazu genutzt werden können, Online-Diskussionen zu beeinflussen.
„I cannot reword“
Meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister
The billionaire purchased Twitter last year for $44 billion and has since made significant changes to the platform. He laid off thousands of employees, introduced a paid premium offering, reduced active moderation of online content, and lifted the bans on controversial users like former US President Donald Trump. In July, Musk stated that the company’s advertising revenue had decreased by half since the acquisition.
On Monday, Musk met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the conversation, which was broadcast live on X, they discussed various topics including combating antisemitism on the platform. Netanyahu specifically asked how X could prevent „bot armies“ from fueling antisemitism in online debates.