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Elon Musk’s X is planning to charge users in New Zealand and the Philippines joining via the platform’s web application $1 per year as part of its programme to reduce bot activity. The subscription is part of X’s “Not A Bot” programme, which attempts to “bolster our already significant efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity”, the company noted in a help centre post on its website on Tuesday. As part of the pilot programme, new users signing up via the website in the two countries will also be required to verify their account with a phone number, the unsigned post said. It remained unclear why the subscription programme is being rolled out only in these two countries, and exclusively for new users joining via the X website, and not the mobile app. However, Not a Bot’s terms and conditions suggested that people may also subscribe to the programme from X’s iOS and Android apps, while the main help centre post only specified web. X did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment. “As of October 17th, 2023 we’ve started testing “Not A Bot”, a new subscription method for new users in two countries,” the company posted. “This will evaluate a potentially powerful measure to help us combat bots and spammers on X, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount. Within this test, existing users are not affected,” it said. New users from the two countries who opt to subscribe with $1 will for the web version of the platform will be able to post content, like posts, reply, repost and quote other accounts’ posts, as well as bookmark posts, X noted. However, those who opt out of this subscription in the web application “will only be able to take ‘read only’ actions, such as: Read posts, Watch videos, and Follow accounts,” the company stated. “This new programme aims to defend against bots and spammers who attempt to manipulate the platform and disrupt the experience of other X users. We look forward to sharing more about the results soon,” it added. The latest programme is also in addition of X’s premium $8 subscription option. Commenting on a post on X about the new programme, Mr Musk called it “the only way to fight bots without blocking real users.” “Correct, read for free, but $1/year to write. This won’t stop bots completely, but it will be 1000X harder to manipulate the platform,” the multibillionaire said. X’s latest decision is in line with the Tesla titan’s aim to curb bot activity on the platform since before his takeover of then-Twitter in November last year. He has also held from the beginning that charging users would curb bot activity on the social media platform even though it has been found that only a small fraction of users subscribe to its $8 premium service. But the multibillionaire has continued to hold that a subscription fee would make it harder for bots to create accounts since each bot would need a new credit card to register on the platform. “It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” Mr Musk said last month. “Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny – call it a tenth of a penny – but even if it has to pay a few dollars or something, the effective cost of bots is very high,” he added. Read More EU to investigate X’s handling of disinformation over Hamas attack on Israel EU asks Elon Musk to ‘walk the talk’ on X/Twitter disinformation over Hamas attack How Elon Musk’s Twitter became a haven for fake news and misinformation Viral hate and misinformation amid Israel-Hamas crisis renew fears of real-world violence Instagram Threads adds edit button and voice notes as it attempts to take over from Twitter EU opens investigation into X’s handling of disinformation over Hamas attack on Israel

By Nathan Layne and Susan Heavey Former President Donald Trump flies to Miami on Monday to face criminal

Forgotten man Darwin Nunez came off the bench to fire 10-man Liverpool to a sensational 2-1 win at Newcastle as they staged a late, late show. Trailing to former Everton striker Anthony Gordon’s opener and at a numerical disadvantage following Virgil van Dijk’s dismissal, the Reds refused to accept defeat and got their reward when the £85million Uruguay international levelled with nine minutes remaining and then snatched victory three minutes into stoppage time. The Magpies were left to reflect on missed chances – Alisson produced a stunning first-half save to deny Miguel Almiron, who later hit a post – but Jurgen Klopp’s men scrapped impressively to ensure their unbeaten run against the Tyneside club extended to 14 games. Klopp celebrated wildly in front of the home dugout and on the pitch after the final whistle as the home fans among a crowd of 52,214 trudged away barely able to believe what they had witnessed. The visitors made a lively start amid a raucous atmosphere as former Magpies target Dominik Szoboszlai forced an early corner, and it was they who set the tempo as the game unfolded. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold left himself walking a tightrope after picking up a needless sixth-minute booking for kicking the ball away, and he was perhaps fortunate to escape further punishment after Gordon went down under his challenge seconds later. Newcastle keeper Nick Pope, who was sent off in the corresponding fixture last season, endured a testing start and he came for, but failed to connect meaningfully with two early corners, although as Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Almiron gradually worked their way into the game, the traffic towards his goal became less congested. Joelinton mustered the first attempt on Alisson’s goal, a reward for Guimaraes’ persistence, although the keeper was more than equal to the task, but opposite number Pope was extended much further to repel Luis Diaz’s near-post strike after a mazy 17th-minute run. Pope comfortably claimed Mo Salah’s curled 24th-minute effort after the striker had cut inside full-back Dan Burn, but Liverpool’s game-plan was torn apart seconds later. Alexander-Arnold mis-controlled Salah’s pass, allowing Gordon to steal in and race away before sliding a shot past the advancing Alisson, and worse was to come for the Reds when skipper Van Dijk felled Alexander Isak on the edge of the box three minutes later and was dismissed. Only Alisson’s brilliance prevented Newcastle from doubling their advantage nine minutes before the break when he somehow managed to claw Almiron’s stinging volley onto the underside of his crossbar. With defender Joe Gomez having replaced the sacrificed Diaz before the break, the Reds returned knowing they needed something special to force their way back into the game, but Gordon continued to terrorise Alexander-Arnold, and it was the Magpies who looked more likely to add to their tally. Almiron skied high over after Joelinton had surged into the penalty area before crossing, but with the 10 men largely sitting deep, Newcastle found themselves having to unpick the most steadfast of locks with midfield pair Guimaraes and Tonali the main protagonists. Szoboszlai and substitute Diogo Jota helped to ease Liverpool back into the contest as the home side were forced to defend, and although Gordon blazed a 64th-minute drive just wide of Alisson’s left post, it took a superb intervention by Sven Botman to prevent Salah from making the most of a delicious exchange with Jota. Almiron was unfortunate to see a 76th-minute shot come back off a post with Alisson beaten, and the Reds capitalised on that stroke of good fortune with nine minutes remaining when Nunez seized on Botman’s error to fire past Pope. With Newcastle pushing for a winner, the Uruguay international repeated the dose deep into injury time, running on to Salah’s through-ball to snatch an unlikely victory with a similar finish. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Steve Borthwick confident England will fix defensive issues ahead of World Cup Johnny Sexton regrets ‘mistake’ which saw him miss Ireland’s World Cup warm-ups Novak Djokovic says Carlos Alcaraz pushes him ‘to the limit’ ahead of US Open

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Backup kicker Marshall Meeder barely cleared the crossbar with a 38-yard field goal as time ran out after Ethan Hurkett’s interception gave Iowa a final possession with 15 seconds left, and the Hawkeyes beat Nebraska 13-10 on Friday.

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Paige Spiranac is known to make her followers laugh by incorporating humor into her golf-related content