X Implements 60% Payout Reduction for Aggregators in Quality Drive
Elon Musk's social media platform X has significantly reduced payments to users who post clickbait and repackage news stories, warning account holders against "flooding the timeline" with low-quality content. The move targets so-called "aggregators" – users who quickly repost news from other accounts without adding substantial original commentary.
Revenue Sharing Programme Adjustments
Under X's creator revenue sharing programme, which requires users to have at least 500 verified followers and generate 5 million views over three months, aggregators have seen their payouts slashed by 60%. Nikita Bier, X's head of product, announced that this total will be reduced by a further 20% in a bid to curb manipulative practices.
Bier explained the rationale behind the decision, stating: "It became abundantly clear: flooding the timeline with 100 stolen reposts and clickbait everyday crowded out real creators and hurt new author growth." He emphasised that X will not compensate for manipulation of the programme or its users, though it remains committed to free speech principles.
Specific Penalties and Influencer Reactions
The platform has also imposed a permanent deduction in payments for users who excessively employ "????BREAKING" tags on posts, a tactic often associated with sensationalist content. This policy shift follows reports from several rightwing influencers, including Dominick McGee (known as Dom Lucre), who claimed their payments were stopped without explanation.
McGee, who has 1.6 million followers and previously earned approximately $55,000 annually from X, posted a message indicating his removal from the monetisation programme due to "violations of our creator monetisation standards." Other accounts, such as PoliMath, expressed concern about being inadvertently categorised as aggregators despite denying such practices.
Support for the Policy and Future Tools
Not all reactions were negative. Candace Owens, a rightwing US commentator, endorsed the change, calling it "a good policy." Meanwhile, Bier revealed that X is trialling new tools to identify original authors and allocate a portion of revenue directly to them, aiming to incentivise high-quality, original material while still allowing reposts as a core platform feature.
In a pointed exchange with the Daily Loud account, labelled a source for "viral news across the planet," Bier criticised its approach: "You copy and paste. You do not add any unique commentary … You are welcome to continue to do this, but it does not create any business value for X or enrich our timeline."
Broader Context and Platform Initiatives
This crackdown is part of a series of measures by X to address misleading content. Bier has previously announced payment bans for users posting unlabelled AI-generated war videos and pledged to introduce an "iron slopdome" to combat AI-generated spam. As X prepares for a potential float on US markets under Musk's SpaceX empire, these steps reflect a strategic push to enhance content quality and creator ecosystems.
