X is replacing its long-running creator revenue-sharing system with a new program designed to prioritize original reporting, videos, photos, analysis, graphics and other material created directly for the platform.
X, the social media platform now owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, will wind down its existing Revenue Sharing program after concluding that its incentives had become “misaligned.”
Existing Revenue Sharing Ends September 7
Creators already enrolled in Revenue Sharing will not lose access immediately.
TechCrunch said existing participants will continue earning through September 7, while X has stopped accepting new applicants to the outgoing program.
Creators will be able to apply for the replacement program beginning September 8 and must continue subscribing to an X Premium tier.
The Verge said applicants must have at least 500 verified followers and generate at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users during the previous 90 days, in addition to other requirements.
Original Posts Become the Center of X’s Payout Formula
The biggest change is not simply who qualifies, but what type of engagement can generate money.
Payouts will depend on “qualified impressions” received by original content, defining those impressions as unique views from Premium subscribers on the Home Timeline when at least 50% of a post is visible.
TechCrunch said X considers original reporting and analysis, photographs and videos created by the account owner, and self-made graphics or memes eligible forms of original content. Commentary and reaction posts can still qualify when they contribute something meaningful rather than merely reproduce another creator’s work.
Copied posts, downloaded content uploaded again by another account, and material reposted without meaningful transformation will not qualify under X’s new originality rules.
X Wants Creators to Stop ‘Gaming the System’
The overhaul follows repeated attempts by X to discourage accounts that maximize engagement by aggregating other people’s posts or publishing clickbait.
X reduced payments to aggregators and clickbait accounts in April, although Elon Musk later reversed some changes after creator backlash over how local audiences were weighted in payout calculations.
The Verge said X’s new program is intended to shift creator behavior away from exploiting loopholes and toward publishing material that adds new value to the platform.
Allegra Jacchia, Senior Product Manager for Creators at SpaceXAI, said the new system was designed to reward people bringing “original ideas, expertise, creativity, and unique perspectives” rather than creators who became particularly effective at gaming the existing system, according to The Verge.
Jacchia said the previous Revenue Sharing system had reached a point where its incentives were “misaligned,” arguing that creators should concentrate on bringing new content to X instead of maximizing payouts.
Originality Rules Could Reshape X’s Creator Economy
The switch could significantly affect accounts whose business models depend on reposting viral clips, screenshots or news gathered elsewhere.
Simply repurposing other people’s material or relying on replies theoretically will no longer provide the same route to creator income under Original Content Rewards.
X chose to build an entirely new program rather than continue adding rules and exceptions to Revenue Sharing, while Jacchia said the company intends to keep refining its models and raising its standards over time.
The September transition therefore represents more than a new payout formula. X is attempting to use financial incentives to determine what creators publish—rewarding accounts that produce material specifically for the platform while reducing the value of recycled engagement that previously helped some accounts turn virality into revenue.
