I’m certainly not an avid user of social media, but I, like many of you, consistently use it to get the latest information about politics and world events. Sadly, it has become a cesspool of regurgitated and low-effort content that makes it a mental drain to slog through in an attempt to find relevant information. Thankfully, X has announced that they will be launching a new crackdown to save their app.
All aggregators had their payouts reduced to 60% this cycle. We will add another 20% deduction in the next cycle.
— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) April 11, 2026
It became abundantly clear: flooding the timeline with 100 stolen reposts and clickbait everyday crowded-out real creators and hurt new author growth.
The next step…
If it’s a repost or from a third party network, there will be up to a 90% deduction on impressions.
— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) April 11, 2026
I recommend recording original videos with your own voice over. We want net new content on the app.
Regarding X ad payouts ...
— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) April 11, 2026
I was posting for free on this app before the revenue system, I will still be here posting if they cancel it entirely.
99% of the users on X don't make anything. Those of you who are making some $$$ should probably just keep it to yourself and stop…
“The next step is to assign a permanent deduction to habitual bait posters who use “🚨BREAKING”on every post.”
— Tony Ortiz (Current Revolt) (@CurrentRevolt) April 11, 2026
I know a few Texas influencers that are gonna suffer from this change. https://t.co/ct90wFcJtM
Sometimes you can clearly see how monetization changes play out in user behavior. X announced in January that it would only monetize posts on your own feed, not replies. On March 21st, Bubblebathgirl completely stopped being in other accounts' replies. If you remember what it…
— Damin Toell (@damintoell) April 11, 2026
Dude… you were getting paid to repost other peoples stuff. You’re not Jesus on the cross.
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) April 11, 2026
Calm down. https://t.co/qeXLP5RT3t
The gist of the change is that monetization will no longer benefit the countless copy and paste accounts that litter their app currently. Countless individuals actively run accounts that simply download or repost the same clip uploaded by another account and don't even go through the effort of writing an original caption. Accounts like those will have their monetization scheme severely hampered.
I’m not a big poster myself. I really only make posts when I am working on an exclusive. Still, I would say that I scroll through the app more than most. Eliminating slop accounts or the absurd number of aggregators and funneling those funds to top-tier creators who have worked to produce engaging and important work. Nick Shirley is the clearest example of this.
Still, I am hesitant to say that the news is entirely good. The 90% deduction on impressions from third parties should be of concern. Would that mean that the clicks from embedded posts from mainstream outlets to creators like Shirley would throttle the revenue he could receive? Why should creators not reap the rewards for creating content that has captured national attention? There clearly needs to be a better thought out solution if that is the case.
Even then, kudos to X for understanding just how terrible things have become on social media and for their desire to fix it.
