News

Elon Musk plans to make people pay for Twitter — and we’re definitely not calling it X now

Someone get Elon a new toy, he's doing our heads in.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 19th September 2023

Billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly revealed plans to make people pay to use Twitter in the near future during a discussion around technology and artificial intelligence.

Speaking in a roundtable discussion with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as physicist Max Tegmark and the president and co-founder of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, the group got on to the subject of Musk‘s current pet project: X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Space X and Tesla boss has been the owner of the social media platform since October 2022 and, as well as changing its name, has already made a number of tweaks, including limiting the number of tweets an account can view, to purging verified accounts and introducing a premium subscription model.

However, it now seems that charging people to ‘make the most of the site’ through the optional upgraded tier (initially named ‘Twitter Blue‘) is set to go even further as during the roundtable, Musk said that the company is moving towards having everyone make “a small monthly payment” to use X.

In fact, as the above article would suggest, it appears that the South African business magnate has long had designs on moving towards a full paywall model, explaining his primary reason in response to a question about AI and bots on Monday, 18 September.

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“We’re actually going to come out with lower tier pricing”, said Musk. “We want it to be just a small amount of money. In my view, this is actually the only defence against vast armies of bots.

“The single most important reason that we’re moving to having a small monthly payment for the use of the X system is that it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.”

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While it is true that Twitter/X is flooded with bots, it goes without saying that the reaction online hasn’t exactly been positive, with many remarking, “This app will die” if people have to pay; “RIP Twitter X or whatever he wants to call it” and countless other versions of the same, very simple answer: no.

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Expanding on his justification, Muks said this approach will combat AI accounts “because a bot costs a fraction of a penny, or a tenth of a penny, but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high, and then you also have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot.”

Nevertheless, given the fact that there are currently around 640,000 X Premium subscribers — according to the most recent figures, anyway — out of an estimated 528.3 million monthly users, we’re going to guess you’ll find the majority aren’t willing to pay for what was once a free and fundamentally uncomplicated service.

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Would you ever be willing to pay for X (Twitter), or is this just yet another example of Elon Musk making this app way more complicated than it needs to be?

You can watch the full roundtable discussion below:

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Featured Image — Elon Musk (via X)

News

Police appeal for information after pedestrian killed on Mancunian Way followed earlier welfare concern reports

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Mancunian Way at night

Police are continuing to appeal for information after a pedestrian was killed on Mancunian Way during the early hours.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that the shocking incident occurred at approximately 12:50am on Friday 31 October when it was reported that a Volkswagen Passat had collided with a man in his 20s.

Sadly, the collision was fatal and the pedestrian died at the scene.

The driver of the Volkswagen, a man in his 40s, was subsequently arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Following the incident, subsequent police enquiries have established that a call was made to the force shortly after midnight which reported concern for a man walking on the carriageway, and GMP says it believes the man in that report was the man who was involved in the fatal collision.

Officers were sent out as ‘high priority’ to carry out an extensive search of the surrounding area after the report was made, but it was said that they couldn’t locate him.

Due to this earlier report, GMP has confirmed that it has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to look into its response to the search.

The victim’s family is aware, have been updated, and they are being supported by specialist officers at this time.

GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit is still appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward, and are particularly keen to speak to anyone who may have CCTV footage, dashcam, or mobile phone footage from the area in the moments leading up to the incident.

“This is a tragic incident for all involved and we express our deepest condolences to the family of the man who has lost his life, and whom we are doing our utmost to support at this time,” commented Sergeant Andrew Page.

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Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 4741, quoting log number 111 of the 31/10/25, or by using the ‘report tool’ or LiveChat function on the GMP website – www.gmp.police.uk

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Featured Image – Geograph

News

Stockport paedophile who abused teen girls in early 2000s handed five extra years in prison

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Christopher Oates

A prolific paedophile who ‘groomed, exploited, and coerced’ teenage girls in the early 2000s has had his sentenced extended.

It was reported on back in June that Christopher Oates, from Stockport, was brought to justice after he subjected vulnerable girls to what Greater Manchester Police (GMP) referred to as a ‘campaign’ of violence and sexual abuse 20 years ago.

Oates was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15 years old, and two counts causing / inciting a child aged 13-17 years to prostitution.

He was originally sentenced to 13 years in prison for all his crimes.

But now, following a successful appeal by GMP, working with the survivors and the Crown Prosecution Service, to take the ‘unduly lenient’ sentence to the Court of Appeal, Oates has now been handed an extra five years in prison.

His sentencing increase comes after the 45-year-old groomed one of the survivors from when she was just 14 years old, by providing her with a false sense of security, paying her compliments, and pretending to be her boyfriend, all before he proceeded to ply her with drugs, gifts, and affection, and using the trust and control he gained to persuade her to start sex work on the streets of Manchester.

When the teenage victim began to doubt his intentions and asked to go home, Oates dragged her down an alleyway, violently attacked her, and threatened her with a gun, stating: ‘You do as I say, you’re mine now,’ commanding her to go to her ‘spot’.

It was this incident that prompted the teenager to confide in her mother and support services, and from here, found the strength to move forward with her life, while still courageously supporting the police investigation.

From this investigation, detectives were then able to identify a second teenage victim, a 17-year-old, who Oates also coerced into sex work.

Speaking on Oates’ sentencing increase, DI Eleanor Humphreys, who was a senior investigating officer for this case, said: “We join both victims in expressing our relief and delight that the Court of Appeal has reviewed Oates’ lenient sentence and increased it by five years.

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“Oates will now rightly serve consecutive sentences for both victims, meaning that his time behind bars reflects the totality of his offending against both women – whose lives he has so badly impacted.

“We will not relent in ensuring child sex offenders are brought to justice and face the full consequences for their horrific crimes.”

Featured Image – GMP

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