The first beneficiaries appear to be string of high profile far right influencers who tweeted before the announcement how much they’ve earned as part of the program. Ian Miles Cheong, Benny Johnson, and Ashley St. Claire all touted their earnings
Tech is not your friend. We are. Sign up for The Tech Friend newsletter.
“Wow. Elon Musk wasn’t kidding. Content monetization is real,” tweeted an anonymous account called End Wokeness, with 1.4 million followers, accompanied by a screenshot showing earnings of over $10,400.
So far, the influencers who have publicly revealed that they’re part of the program are prominent figures on the right. Andrew Tate, for example, who was recently released from jail on rape and human trafficking charges, posted that he’d been paid over $20,000 by Twitter.
Side note, the author, @taylorlorenz, just got called a liar by Musk, further reinforcing the story’s veracity.
Not surprised, but I’m glad the media is calling it out, and the article does a good job going in-depth. I’m pretty certain it’s part of a larger effort on the part of his Saudi and Russian backers to influence the upcoming elections.