Now Elon Musk's Twitter will charge you to access 'free speech'

When Elon Musk bought Twitter in October last year, he called himself a 'free speech absolutist'. However, for free speech, you have to pay money now. The billionaire tweeted on Saturday that from the next month onwards, Twitter will allow media publishers on its platform to charge users on a per article basis with one click. While it is likely to benefit media organisations and Twitter itself, Musk defended his decision, saying that it will be cheaper for those who don't want to pay for a monthly subscription. 

Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.

This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2023

However, Musk didn't say anything about people having to pay extra money for news content from organisations that already have paid subscription services.

And if that is the case, why would a person read that article through Twitter when they could directly go to the website of that news organisation?

Ever since Musk acquired the microblogging website, he has been devising various methods to monetise the business.

He first resorted to cost-cutting measures by laying off thousands of people from his company, but later switched to tactics like charging money for a blue tick on Twitter.

A blue tick supposedly authenticates a person on Twitter. But once the paid service for the blue tick was launched, subscribers started taking Twitter for a ride.

A person spent just eight dollars to get the blue tick copyright of Jesus Christ. If this was not enough, a user went to greater lengths and purchased a verified account of God.

Such errors became internet memes overnight, but what was interesting, such accounts attracted millions of followers in just a couple of days after their launch.  

Musk, however, didn't deviate from his path, and early this month, Twitter removed the blue ticks of people as acclaimed as US President Joe Biden, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, ace Indian actors, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, and former India Test skipper, Virat Kohli.

However, many of the A-listers got the blue tick back, but the exercise was to force people to pay for the paid service. 

Twitter also made some changes to its advertising policy and allowed cannabis companies to sell their products on the microblogging site.

"Going forward, certified advertisers may feature packaged cannabis products in ad creative," the company stated in a press release.