The social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, has decreased compensation for users who share clickbait or repurpose news articles, cautioning against overwhelming feeds with substandard material. Nikita Bier, the company’s product head, announced on the site that ‘aggregators’—those who swiftly repackage and redistribute content from others—have seen their earnings from the creator revenue program cut. This initiative distributes a portion of ad income to creators with at least 500 verified followers and 5 million impressions in three months. Bier stated that these aggregators experienced a 60% reduction in payouts, with an additional 20% cut planned. He explained that saturating timelines with numerous copied reposts and sensational headlines daily overshadowed genuine creators and hindered new talent development. Bier also noted that ongoing payment penalties would apply to users who habitually use phrases like ‘🚨BREAKING’ in every update on X, which Musk bought for $44 billion in 2022. He emphasized that while X would not restrict speech or visibility, it would not reward manipulation of the program or its audience. The announcement followed complaints from several conservative influencers about halted payments. Dominick McGee, who shares conspiracy-related posts under the handle Dom Lucre and has 1.6 million followers, claimed on Saturday that his monetization was revoked without explanation. He shared what seemed to be a notice from X citing breaches of creator monetization rules. A New York Times report from last year indicated McGee earned $55,000 annually from X, a modest sum considering his long daily hours from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ethan Levins, who identifies as an independent journalist and truth seeker on his profile, reported that his payments were withdrawn despite no prior warnings for rule-violating content. Another user, PoliMath, who rejected being labeled an aggregator, expressed concern after receiving their lowest payout recently, fearing misclassification. Conservative commentator Candace Owens, often criticized for promoting extreme conspiracy theories, endorsed the policy in a response to Bier’s post. In another update, Bier mentioned that X is testing features to recognize original content creators and direct a share of revenue to them. He stressed that while reposting remains essential to X, the revenue program aims to encourage superior, original contributions. Responding to the Daily Loud account, described as a source for global viral news, Bier noted that mere copying and pasting without unique insights adds no value to the business or the platform’s discussions. Users can continue such practices, but they won’t qualify for compensation. X, preparing for a U.S. market listing as part of Musk’s SpaceX operations, was contacted for further comment. Bier has previously addressed deceptive content, including barring payments for those repeatedly sharing unmarked AI-generated war footage. He has also committed to implementing an ‘iron slopdome’ to combat AI-generated spam on the site.
