No one's saying the quiet part out loud. Pay for an account. Even $1, one time, is enough to cut almost all those bot farms down.
Is it realistic? yes. Is it viable? I'm not sure. People claim to care more about privacy but will choose ads and trackers over a subscription any day of the week. Anyone operating a website or app with a subsciption knows this.
Considering that some bot operators [1] and spammers [2] on Twitter are willing to pay the $8 a month for fake verification, I don't expect a $1 sign-up fee to be very effective.
Is it realistic? yes. Is it viable? I'm not sure. People claim to care more about privacy but will choose ads and trackers over a subscription any day of the week. Anyone operating a website or app with a subsciption knows this.