New Twitter head Elon Musk said Tuesday the site will charge $8 per month to verify users’ accounts, arguing the plan would solve the platform’s issues with bots and trolls while creating a new revenue stream for the company.
New Twitter head Elon Musk said Tuesday the site will charge $8 per month to verify users’ accounts, arguing the plan would solve the platform’s issues with bots and trolls while creating a new revenue stream for the company.
The announcement comes only days after the world’s wealthiest man took sole control of the social media giant in a contentious $44 billion deal.
«Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,» Musk, who has styled himself as a free-speech champion, tweeted, in reference to the platform’s paid subscription service, Twitter Blue.
Under the new plan, paid subscribers would receive Twitter’s famous blue checkmark that signals a verified, authentic account.
That feature is currently offered only to public figures, an approach Musk described as a «lords & peasants system.»
He said Twitter Blue subscribers would also receive «priority» placement in «replies, mentions & search,» which he called «essential to defeat spam/scam.»
There would also be expanded video abilities, fewer ads, and the possibility for users to get a «paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us,» he said.
Twitter Blue currently allows users to access certain news sites for free and without ads, such as the Los Angeles Times.
«This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators,» Musk tweeted.
