Musk's X test is not a robot, and new users have to pay $1 a year to post and interact.

CTOnews.com, Oct. 18 (Xinhua)-- Social network X (formerly Twitter) announced today that it is testing a program called "not Not A Bot", which charges new unverified users a fee of $1 a year to post and interact on X.

The "not Robot" program is currently being tested only in New Zealand and the Philippines, and only for new users. X's official support account said existing users were "not affected in this test".

X claims that charging users a fee of $1 a year is aimed at "reducing spam, manipulation of the X platform and robotic activity", and that subscription has "proved to be the main solution to these problems on a large scale".

The new plan aims to defend against robots and spammers who try to manipulate the platform and interfere with other X user experiences. We look forward to sharing more results as soon as possible.

All new accounts in New Zealand and the Philippines need to verify their mobile phone numbers and then pay a fee of $1 to post, reply, forward, quote and collect posts. New users who do not pay can only read posts, watch videos and follow accounts.

It is not clear whether the "not Robot" program will be extended to other countries and users who have signed up for X but do not pay a monthly premium subscription fee, and CTOnews.com will keep an eye on it.