X is rewriting how creators get paid. The old Creator Revenue Share scheme is being replaced by the Original Content Rewards Program, built to send money toward people who make things and away from accounts that repackage what other people made.
The switch happens September 8. Enrolment in the old program is already closed. Current participants keep earning through September 7, then have to reapply under the new terms, with an eligibility checker sitting in Creator Studio.
What counts, and what doesn't
X published two lists. The second one is where the teeth are.
You can monetize original writing, threads, articles, reporting and analysis. Photos and videos you shot. Memes, graphics and illustrations you designed. Commentary that adds an actual perspective rather than a reaction face. Edits that transform source material through context, analysis, narration or humor.
The disqualifiers are blunter. Copied or substantially reproduced work is out. Anything downloaded from X or another platform and reuploaded by someone who didn't make it is out. So are posts produced or published "using automated means," content devoted to monetization coaching and payout-maximizing talk, disinformation, and captions or text overlays that just describe what the clip already shows.
"Creating original content takes time, effort, expertise, and creativity," X said, framing the whole thing as rewarding creators who bring something new.
The AI question X didn't answer
That phrase — "automated means" — is carrying a lot of weight without explanation. AI-generated images and video are made by automation on any plain reading, but X hasn't said outright whether generative output is banned. Enforcement will settle it, and the ambiguity is going to turn into a fight, particularly for accounts built entirely on synthetic imagery.
Disinformation is slippery here for a different reason. X runs no internal moderation team and leans on Community Notes, which only appear when contributors from opposing political camps agree. On contested political claims, that agreement often never shows up. A Bloomberg analysis last year found fewer than 10% of submitted notes ever make it into the app.
A smaller pool than it sounds
The program is still limited to X Premium subscribers, and payouts come from unique impressions by Premium users in the Home timeline. Fewer than 1% of X users pay for Premium. That's a narrow economy, even if a handful of accounts have made steady money inside it.
Volume is worth knowing too. The SpaceX prospectus filed in May put X at roughly 350 million posts a day, down from the 500 million the company claimed in 2023. Tighter payout rules could push that number down further.
Why X might take that trade
This isn't a one-off tweak. In January X restricted crypto projects from mass-posting. In March it demonetized AI deepfakes and floated cutting incentives for creators posting about other countries' politics, a plan Musk killed after some of his favorite accounts complained. In April it cut aggregator payouts.
The thread running through all of it is feed quality. X posts also train xAI's models, and a stream with fewer reposts, less engagement bait and less synthetic filler is worth more as training data than a bigger, messier one. Whether any of this makes the app better for people who've never opened Creator Studio is the real question — and you'll be able to see the answer in the feed within a few weeks of September 8.
Image: Ehaan Dewa, via Pexels
