Topline
X’s head of product said Friday it demonetized an account with nearly 2 million followers for lifting a video of the Blue Origin rocket crash from a smaller creator and putting its own watermark on it, part of a recent crackdown on widely followed accounts gaming the platform’s monetization system by flooding the timeline with unoriginal content.
X has demonetized some major accounts for lifting content from smaller accounts. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, said Friday X demonetized an account known as “Disclose.tv,” which has nearly 2 million followers, for posting a video captured by Spaceflight Now photographer Adam Bernstein of Blue Origin’s rocket crash and removing his watermark.
Disclose.tv, which regularly posts news clips featuring its own watermark, says on its website it is a Germany-based “aggregator of breaking news” that uses “videos from popular sources,” though it has been described by Politifact as a “fake news” outlet.
Bier said in a post on X last week the platform has identified “large accounts that have been programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts to game the revenue share program,” saying impressions earned by these posts will be redirected to the original creators.
X’s monetization system, open to users who have paid subscriptions to the platform, rewards users who have large followings and post widely consumed content.
Earlier this week, Bier said small creators on X are harmed by accounts with “4 million followers downloading-and-reuploading 600 videos per day,” vowing to “kill them.”
Bier, in a post last month, said X reduced payouts for creators that just aggregate other posts to 60%, vowing to reduce payments by an additional 20% for the following pay cycle.
What Other Accounts Has X Demonetized?
Earlier this week, Bier said he demonetized an account called “@Rainmaker1973,” which has more than 4 million followers, for reposting thousands of videos lifted from smaller accounts and removing their watermarks over the past six months. “You cannot get more shameless than this. This is your last day in the creator program,” Bier said in a post. The account responded in a post on Friday, calling Bier’s accusations a “lie” and saying small accounts have asked him to repost their videos for visibility. Dom Lucre, an X user whose real name is Dominick McGee, complained on X last month he was demonetized by the platform. Bier, in response, said in a post he was demonetized for reposting AI-generated war videos. As McGee continued to post about his demonetization, Bier said his “crash out has been incredible content.” McGee, who often posts misinformation and conspiracy theories, has more than 1.7 million followers and previously earned about $55,000 a year from X, the New York Times reported last year.
How Does X’s Monetization Work?
X allows creators who subscribe to its premium membership program to monetize posts, provided they abide by the platform’s content monetization standards, have more than 2,000 followers and have earned more than 5 million impressions across all posts within the preceding 3 months. According to X’s monetization guidelines, posts that promote deceptive or illegal activity, like drugs or weapons, are prohibited from monetization, as are posts considered “engagement bait” or “recycled or unoriginal content.” Other posts that may have monetization restricted include posts about sexual content, violence, strong language or hate speech. In March, in response to a proliferation of AI-generated content about the Iran war, X implemented a new standard prohibiting monetization of AI-generated posts depicting an armed conflict, threatening to suspend creators from the revenue sharing program.
Key Background
X’s monetization program has previously drawn criticism from users, who have said the financial incentive to post has led to the platform being flooded with “slop,” or low-quality content. Shortly after X introduced its creator revenue sharing program, Mashable reported users had already begun complaining their timelines were flooded with “engagement bait,” saying the platform “rewards those who post rage bait”—or, content designed to foster engagement that “turns anger into dollars as users can’t stop themselves from watching or commenting.” A BBC investigation previously found some users earned thousands of dollars from X for posting “misinformation, AI-generated images and unfounded conspiracy theories.”
Further Reading
What is rage-baiting and why is it profitable? (BBC)
Elon Musk’s app pays users now. Expect an engagement bait deluge. (Mashable)