Google Program Lets Readers Pay a Buck a Month to Block Ads

Test partners include The Onion, Imgur and Mashable

Web publishers for 15 years have struggled with getting readers to pay for content they are accustomed to acquiring for free. Pay walls have been built and dismantled, print-and-digital packages have launched and often failed, but Google's going to see if viewers are happy to throw coins into the digital publisher's hat if they don't have to see those godforsaken ads.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based tech giant is testing a program called Contributor by Google with 10 publishers, including The Onion, Imgur and Mashable, in which users can pay $1, $2 or $3 a month to not see ads.

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