X Ends Revenue Sharing September 7, Launches Original Content Rewards September 8

X is retiring its Creator Revenue Sharing program on September 7, 2026, and replacing it with Original Content Rewards, a new creator monetization system focused on original posts and qualified impressions from Premium users.

 

TL;DR

• X stopped accepting new Creator Revenue Sharing enrollments on August 7 and will retire the program on September 7.
• Existing members can begin applying for Original Content Rewards from September 8.
• Creators need at least 500 verified followers and 500,000 verified-user Home Timeline impressions in 90 days.
• Copied, minimally modified, aggregated, and certain cross-platform reposts will not qualify for rewards.

 

X is changing how creators get paid on the platform, as it looks to shift financial incentives toward content that users actually create themselves.

The company stopped accepting new enrollments into Creator Revenue Sharing on August 7. Creators already enrolled will continue earning through September 7, when the existing program is scheduled to be retired.

Existing participants will receive two regularly scheduled payouts on August 14 and August 28. X expects a final payout covering earnings accrued through September 7 to arrive on or around September 11.

Starting September 8, X will begin rolling out access for existing Revenue Sharing members to apply for the new Original Content Rewards program. Existing participants do not automatically qualify and must meet the new program's eligibility requirements.

 

What Is X Original Content Rewards?

 

According to X, the Original Content Rewards Program is designed to pay creators for producing original, high-quality material that reflects their own voice, expertise, perspective, or creativity.

Eligible formats include standard posts, Articles, videos, images, original reporting and analysis, graphics, illustrations, and memes created by the account holder. Commentary and reactions can also qualify when the creator contributes meaningful original value.

X says creators will earn payouts based on “qualified impressions” generated by eligible original content.

These are unique impressions from users subscribed to X Premium Basic, Premium, Premium+, or Premium Business that occur on the Home Timeline, with at least 50% of the post visible.

Repeated impressions from the same account on the same post are excluded, along with paid, promoted, artificially generated, or fraudulent impressions.

 

What Content Will Not Earn X Rewards?

 

The bigger change is X's attempt to stop financially rewarding accounts that primarily reuse other people's material.

X says copied content, including text, images, or videos taken entirely from other creators without an original contribution, will not generate qualified impressions.

Minimally modified material is also excluded. This includes making small changes to another creator's work, such as changing a few words, adding a filter, altering video speed, or placing text over existing content without meaningfully transforming it.

Aggregated posts that primarily combine material from other creators without substantial new framing or perspective will also be excluded.

X additionally says cross-platform reposts will not qualify when content has been taken from another platform and reposted by someone other than its original creator.

The rules do not prohibit creators from commenting on other material altogether. X says analysis, reactions, and commentary can still qualify when they add genuine perspective or additional information.

 

Why Is X Replacing Creator Revenue Sharing?

 

The shift follows earlier efforts by X to change the incentives created by its Revenue Sharing system.

In announcing the new program, X's Allegra Jacchia said the existing model had reached a point where its incentives were “misaligned,” with the company wanting creators to concentrate on producing new material rather than simply maximizing payouts. TechCrunch first highlighted that explanation in its coverage of the program change.

“Creators should be focused on bringing net new content to the platform instead of maximizing payouts,” Jacchia said.

She added that rather than continuing to add rules and exceptions to the old system, X decided to create a program built around rewarding originality from the beginning.

The change follows previous attempts to reduce payments to aggregators and accounts producing clickbait, as X wrestled with creators who learned how to optimize posts specifically for its monetization mechanisms.

 

X Original Content Rewards Eligibility Requirements

 

Creators will need to clear several requirements before they can apply for Original Content Rewards.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, live in a supported country and have an X account in good standing. Personal and Business Accounts can qualify, while accounts belonging to political or government organizations are excluded.

Creators must also maintain an active X Premium, Premium+, or Premium Business subscription.

More importantly, applicants need at least 500 verified followers and at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users over the previous 90 days. Impressions generated through replies do not count toward that threshold.

The previous Creator Revenue Sharing program required five million organic impressions over three months, along with at least 500 verified followers.

However, the two impression requirements are not directly equivalent. Original Content Rewards specifically measures Home Timeline impressions from verified users and excludes reply impressions.

Meeting all eligibility requirements also does not guarantee admission.

Once eligible, creators can submit an application through Creator Studio. X says applicants should receive a decision within three business days.

Creators whose applications are rejected can submit one appeal. If that appeal also fails, they can apply again after 90 days as long as they continue meeting the requirements.

 

How Much Will X Original Content Rewards Pay?

 

X has not published a fixed rate showing exactly how much creators will earn for each qualified impression.

The platform says payouts will be determined by qualified impressions generated by original content, while payments are currently processed every two weeks.

The minimum payout is $30.

Creators will need to connect either a Stripe payout account or an X Money Account where available and complete the required identity verification process before receiving payments.

X Can Remove Creators For Engagement Manipulation

 

The program also introduces ongoing requirements aimed at discouraging creators from gaming X's recommendation and payment systems.

Participants cannot use bots or automated tools to artificially generate views, likes, followers, comments, or shares. They also cannot repeatedly ask users to like, reply, bookmark, follow, or repost their content simply to generate engagement.

Content created or posted using automated means may also be ineligible for payouts.

X says posts containing disinformation or misleading content can be excluded, as can content carrying a helpful Community Note. Material that violates its broader community, copyright, or monetization rules is also ineligible.

Accounts can be temporarily or permanently removed from Original Content Rewards depending on the severity of a violation.

 

What Happens To Existing X Creators?

 

Creators currently participating in Revenue Sharing can continue earning under the existing program until September 7.

From September 8, X will begin giving those members access to apply for Original Content Rewards through Creator Studio. Creators who have already completed identity verification and connected a valid payout method will not need to repeat those steps.

However, creators whose monetization is currently paused because of an earlier policy violation will not be eligible to enroll at this time.

The change effectively moves X's creator economy from a broad engagement-driven Revenue Sharing model toward one where both the source of the content and the source of its impressions determine whether a creator gets paid.

Whether that succeeds in reducing copied posts, aggregation, and engagement farming will depend on how accurately X can identify original contributions and apply the new rules once Original Content Rewards begins rolling out on September 8.