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X has discontinued its Creator Revenue Sharing programme and replaced it with a new Original Content Rewards scheme, changing how creators qualify for payments as the social media platform moves to place greater value on original work rather than raw engagement.
The transition took effect this week, with X beginning to invite existing Revenue Sharing creators to apply for the new programme from September 8, 2026.
The move represents a significant shift in X’s approach to its creator economy, particularly as the platform attempts to reduce incentives for engagement farming, rage-bait and content designed primarily to generate arguments.
Under the new model, creators can earn from eligible original posts, videos, images, articles and commentary, provided their content meets X’s requirements.
X changes how creator payouts are calculated
The biggest difference between the two programmes is how earnings are determined.
Under the former Creator Revenue Sharing model, creators could earn money based partly on advertising displayed in replies to their posts. That meant posts generating large volumes of replies could potentially generate revenue, even when much of the engagement consisted of arguments or controversy.
The Original Content Rewards programme takes a different approach.
X says payments will be linked to qualified impressions generated when X Premium users view original content on their Home Timeline.
Eligible creators will be paid every two weeks, with a minimum payout threshold of $30.
The new structure effectively shifts the emphasis from simply generating conversation around a post to producing content that X considers original and valuable to its audience.
Rage-bait faces a tougher business model
The change could have a noticeable impact on the type of content creators choose to publish.
The previous system faced criticism because it could reward posts that attracted unusually high engagement, creating incentives for some users to deliberately provoke arguments or publish controversial material.
The new programme attempts to make originality a more important part of the equation.
X says reposted material, substantially copied content and automated content will not qualify for rewards.
However, creators can still earn from legitimate forms of commentary, analysis and breaking news where the material demonstrates their own contribution.
That distinction could be particularly important for journalists, analysts, commentators and niche creators who build audiences by adding context or expertise to events already circulating online.
Existing creators must apply again
The transition is not automatic.
X stopped accepting new applications for its old Creator Revenue Sharing programme on August 7, 2026. Existing participants continued earning under the previous arrangement until September 7.
The final payment covering eligible earnings through that date is expected around September 11.
From September 8, existing creators became eligible to begin applying for Original Content Rewards, but their participation in the former programme does not automatically qualify them for the new one.
That means creators who want to continue monetising their X audiences must meet the new programme’s requirements.
New eligibility requirements
The entry requirements set a considerably higher bar for creators seeking access to the rewards programme.
Applicants must have an active X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business subscription, alongside at least 500 verified followers.
They must also have generated at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users during the previous 90 days.
Other requirements include being at least 18 years old, living in an eligible country and maintaining good account standing.
The requirements mean that simply having a large audience is not enough. Creators must demonstrate recent activity and reach among verified users while also maintaining an account that complies with X’s rules.
What creators need to know
The most important takeaway for creators is that volume alone may no longer be enough to build a sustainable income stream on X.
Creators who previously relied heavily on viral posts, controversial opinions or posts engineered to produce large reply counts may need to reconsider their strategies.
Original reporting, expert commentary, useful analysis, visual storytelling and genuinely distinctive perspectives could become more valuable under the new system.
For creators who regularly repost viral material without adding substantial original value, the change could make monetisation more difficult.
The shift also reinforces the importance of understanding X’s definition of original content before investing heavily in a particular publishing strategy.
X bets on a healthier creator economy
The changes come as social platforms increasingly compete to attract creators while trying to maintain the quality of content appearing on their services.
For X, the challenge is particularly significant because the platform’s fast-moving conversation model can reward content that generates intense reactions.
By tying rewards more closely to qualified impressions from Premium users and original content, X is effectively betting that quality and originality can become stronger drivers of its creator economy than controversy and engagement volume.
Whether the new approach succeeds in reducing rage-bait remains to be seen.
But the message to creators is clear: X is changing what it considers valuable enough to pay for.
The platform’s new model puts the emphasis on “original content”, while requiring creators to meet defined audience, subscription and activity thresholds before they can participate.
For creators hoping to turn X into a meaningful source of income, the platform is no longer simply asking how much attention a post can generate. Increasingly, the question is whether that attention comes from content the creator actually produced and can claim as their own.
