X has introduced the Original Content Rewards Program to incentivize unique, high-quality posts while penalizing repetitive spam. The new system replaces a previous revenue-sharing model and is limited to paying subscribers with a specific follower count.
The September 7 sunset of X's revenue-sharing model
X is fundamentally restructuring how it pays creators, effectively treating its previous revenue-sharing system as a failed experiment.. As the report says, the existing revenue-sharing program is now closed to new applicants and will sunset entirely on September 7, with the final payments scheduled to arrive around September 11.
This aggressive timeline suggests that X is attempting to replace a flawed system rather than continuing to patch it.. The previous model was often criticized for rewarding the "haves" of the attention economy and, in some cases, incentivizing the spread of hoaxes to drive engagement.
The 500 verified follower threshold for Premium users
Access to the Original Content Rewards Program is not universal; it is strictly gated behind a paywall and a popularity metric. only subscribers of X Premium, Premium+, or Premium Business who possess at least 500 verified followers are eligible to participate.
By implementing a 500-verified-follower requirement, X creates a significant barrier to entry for emerging voices. This structure risks creating a tiered ecosystem where established influencers are further rewarded while new creators are left without a path to monetization, potentially deepening the divide between the platform's elite and its grassroots users.
Curbing TikTok and YouTube spam through originality rules
X is targeting the "clogging" of user timelines by discouraging the reposting of spammy videos from platforms like TikTok and YouTube. According to X, the new program aims to reward those who break news, share expertise, or provide meaningful perspectives, rather than those who simply cycle existing content.
The platform has established clear disqualifiers to prevent low-effort gaming of the system. Specifically, the practice of adding a simple text caption to someone else's content will no longer qualify as original , nor will posts that explicitly provide coaching on how to monetize the platform.
From March's AI war footage to the hoax-rewarding era
The pivot to the Original Content Rewards Program follows a history of reactive policy changes at X. for example, in March, the platform had to address the surge of AI-generated fake war footage that lacked proper disclosure, leading to the implementation of Community Notes for such posts.
This pattern reveals a struggle to balance open engagement with factual integrity. Earlier iterations of the reevenue system were so weighted toward virality that X eventually had to demonetize false posts that had already gone viral, a move that often came too late to prevent the initial spread of misinformation.
The ambiguity of the 'originality' umbrella
Despite the stated goals, the definition of "originality" remains a point of contention and a significant unknown. The source notes that originality is a "big umbrella," leaving it unclear exactly where the line falls between "curation" and "spam."
It remains unverified how X will adjudicate disputes when creators are penalized for "low-quality behavior" or how the platform will distinguish between a "meaningful perspective" and a standard opinion. without a transparent rubric, the program may simply replace one set of arbitrary rewards with another.
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