X to Test $1 Fee for Posting to Fight Spam, Starting in New Zealand and Philippines

X, formerly Twitter, will test charging new users $1 annually to post & interact to combat spam.

The "Not A Bot" test will start in New Zealand and the Philippines. Users who don't pay can only view posts & follow accounts.

Musk previously said Twitter would move to a subscription model in September 2022. X says this is not a profit driver.

Musk has claimed Twitter underreports bots since trying to back out of the $44B acquisition deal, a claim disputed by experts.

Changes under Musk like verification and trust/safety team cuts have impacted the platform, while competitors haven't matured.