The Promise of 'Free Speech' Becomes a 'Bait Trap'

With the acquisition of Twitter—now X—by Elon Musk, it was implied that users would be entering a magical world of "free speech" and limited moderation. I then had my Twitter account nuked the week after Musk finalized the deal, so I was skeptical from the start. Twitter did reinstate older accounts I used that had been permanently suspended in years past, so I was willing to play the game and see what happened.

Earlier this year, Musk announced a sort of advertising revenue sharing for certain accounts that qualified. If an account paid the monthly verification fee ($8 per month) and had 15 million "impressions" within the previous three months, they could apply for the program and once they were approved, they would be paid a share of the advertising that appeared under their posts. The more eyes they get on their posts, the more profit they get to share.

When the first payouts happened, accounts posted how much they had earned. The highest payout I personally witnessed was $13,000 and change. A former guest on my show, Morgoth, asked whether someone who was essentially getting paid to post would be comfortable sharing opinions that would cause them to be removed from the revenue sharing program. I looked into the revenue sharing for my account and realized I was ineligible as I had cut back my Twitter activity to such an extent that I didn’t qualify due to lack of "impressions" on my posts. I have been actively curbing the time I spend on the site, but with this potential earning opportunity out there, I had a decision to make: continue to wean myself off the site or almost make it a second job, which would involve spending even more time on the site. I chose the former. Then I noticed a third option.

Part of the Twitter/X experience for some time now has been posting hyperbole to gain people's attention. I must admit, it can be fun. But now it is being taken to another level with the ad revenue sharing. I have noticed accounts that are posting the purest hyperbole they can imagine with the sole intention of generating comments in order to increase their ad revenue. There’s no other way I can explain the proliferation of this phenomenon. So the question then became: do I want to engage in the third option to generate income? I just can’t. Twitter/X was a drug and I was already trying to break that habit before Musk took over; now it’s just a bait trap, and people are getting paid thousands of dollars to lay the bait.

It is beyond question that the ad revenue sharing program was meant to drive more traffic and activity to or on the site by incentivizing people to spend increasing amounts of time posting. And I’m sure the data being generated for Mr. Musk is valuable, and it’s certain he will expertly monetize that, but the escalation of rage-inducing posts caused by the ad revenue sharing should be something users are aware of, but I don’t see a lot of people talking about it. I shouldn’t have to mention that social media isn’t real life and there is no better time than now to get to know your neighbors, but here’s the reminder anyway.

If you use Twitter/X be aware that this is happening. When you come across posts by goblins like Nina Turner, who pour literal garbage onto their timelines, it’s easy to comment and get into an argument with some Progressive shitstool. Please remember that she and her ilk are now getting paid to post their drivel. I want to see people like her broke and destitute. Engaging with her and people like her now puts money in their pockets. Do as you wish, but enriching your enemy doesn’t appear to be a great strategy for the future.