Earlier this week, X, formerly Twitter, owner Elon Musk revealed the company would be testing out a new system that would charge new users in New Zealand and The Philipines $1 to ensure they were not a bot. KFI-AM 640 host Bill Handel argues that won’t stop the problem.
During his Handel on the News segment Thursday, the Los Angeles-based host argued it might make bots more prevalent on the platform.
“I do think it can help,” co-host Wayne Resnick said. “I don’t know if it will completely solve the problem, but I do think it can make a dent. A dollar a year is not outrageous. Although, given what’s happening on that platform, a dollar a year is probably overpriced.”
“So when a bot comes out, and I was looking at an interview with a couple of Russians that were involved in the election and the bot campaign against Hillary Clinton. So if you produce 40,000 bots that are giving the same message that’s only $40,000. If it’s $40,000 once, it’s an annual subscription,” Bill Handel said, alluding to the fact that $40,000 for a quasi-smear campaign may be a more budget-friendly option than other marketing campaigns.
When presented with the idea that the bots would have to verify a phone number to ensure registration, Handel argued that wouldn’t be hard to produce, either.
“That’s easy. I get spam calls all the time, which I answer,” Handel joked. “It’s always from a different number.”
