X Platform Reduces Payouts to Aggregation Accounts to Prioritize Original Content

X, the social media platform, announced an overhaul of its creator compensation program. The changes reduce payouts to aggregation accounts, which copy and paste content from other creators or companies, often without attribution. The platform stated that this shift favors original content to enhance the user timeline.

Nikita Bier, head of content at X, posted on Friday that a portion of revenue would be allocated exclusively to original content creators for the current payout cycle. He wrote that reposts and commentary remain a core part of X, but the revenue-sharing program should incentivize original, high-quality content that adds new value to the timeline.

Bier emphasized rewarding the effort to produce content rather than those who distribute it widely.

Under X's revenue-sharing program, payouts are based on engagement received by monetized accounts. Aggregation accounts have driven engagement through mass reposting. Bier reported in a Saturday reply that these accounts saw a 40% payout reduction in the most recent cycle, with an additional 20% cut planned for the next cycle.

stated that aggregation accounts have crowded out real creators and hindered growth for new authors.

He added that X would not compensate for manipulation of the program or users, though it would not restrict speech or reach. The platform defines aggregation as reposting or sourcing content from third-party networks without original additions. Some creators expressed concerns about the policy.

Dom Lucre, a creator, noted that his career relied on others sharing his videos, including unauthorized uses. He wrote that limiting reposts could reduce X's value as a content validator, potentially discouraging original posts due to lower visibility. Other users questioned how X would classify accounts with mixed original and reposted content.