X Cuts Payments to Clickbait and Content Aggregators
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has significantly reduced payments to users who post clickbait and recycle news stories, aiming to penalize 'aggregators' for flooding timelines with low-quality content. Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, announced that aggregators—accounts that repackage and repost news from other sources without adding unique commentary—have seen their payouts from the creator revenue sharing program drop by 60%, with a further 20% reduction planned. The platform intends to reward original creators while discouraging the manipulation of the system through repetitive, stolen posts. Additionally, permanent payment deductions will apply to users who excessively use sensationalist tags like 'BREAKING' on every post. This policy shift follows complaints from several right-wing influencers, including Dominick McGee and Ethan Levins, who reported sudden demonetization or reduced earnings despite having large followings. While some commentators like Candace Owens supported the move as a necessary step for quality control, others expressed concern about being mistakenly categorized as aggregators. X is also testing new tools to better identify original authors and allocate revenue accordingly, reinforcing its stance against content that adds no business value or enriches the user experience.
Wire timeline
X Cuts Payments to Clickbait and Content Aggregators
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has significantly reduced payments to users who post clickbait and recycle news stories, aiming to penalize 'aggregators' for flooding timelines with low-quality content. Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, announced that aggregators—accounts that repackage and repost news from other sources without adding unique commentary—have seen their payouts from the creator revenue sharing program drop by 60%, with a further 20% reduction planned. The platform intends to reward original creators while discouraging the manipulation of the system through repetitive, stolen posts. Additionally, permanent payment deductions will apply to users who excessively use sensationalist tags like 'BREAKING' on every post. This policy shift follows complaints from several right-wing influencers, including Dominick McGee and Ethan Levins, who reported sudden demonetization or reduced earnings despite having large followings. While some commentators like Candace Owens supported the move as a necessary step for quality control, others expressed concern about being mistakenly categorized as aggregators. X is also testing new tools to better identify original authors and allocate revenue accordingly, reinforcing its stance against content that adds no business value or enriches the user experience.
The Guardian