X is fundamentally altering the financial incentives for its most active users, as the platform X slashes aggregator payouts to boost original creators in a significant overhaul of its creator compensation model. The move signals a strategic shift away from rewarding raw engagement and toward incentivizing the production of “net new” content.
Nikita Bier, X’s head of content, announced the change on Friday, stating that the platform is now allocating a specific portion of revenue exclusively to original content creators for the current payout cycle. The objective, according to Bier, is to enrich the app’s timeline by prioritizing high-quality work over the mass redistribution of existing posts.
Under the previous iteration of the Revenue Sharing program, payouts were largely tied to the volume of engagement a monetized account received. This structure inadvertently benefited “aggregation accounts”—profiles that copy and paste content from other creators or news organizations, often without attribution, to drive high view counts and maximize earnings.
The financial impact on these accounts is immediate and steep. In a follow-up post on Saturday, Bier revealed that aggregation accounts saw their payouts cut by 40% in the most recent cycle, with an additional 20% reduction planned for the next. Bier argued that these accounts had begun to crowd out genuine authors and stifle the growth of new creators.
Redefining Value on the Timeline
The core of the dispute lies in how X defines “value.” For years, the platform’s culture has been built on the viral nature of the repost. However, the platform’s leadership now views the monetization of that redistribution as a loophole that rewards “manipulation of the program” rather than actual creativity.
“Reposts & commentary will always be a core pillar of X, but our Revenue Sharing program should incentivize original, high-quality content that brings new value to the Timeline,” Bier wrote. “Which means rewarding the effort it takes to produce something, not just the poster who helped it travel furthest.”
To clarify the new standards, Bier was explicit: any post that is a simple repost or sourced from a third-party network will be subject to a payout deduction. He specifically encouraged creators to produce original video content with their own voice-overs to ensure they qualify for full compensation.
| Payout Cycle | Reduction Percentage | Primary Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Most Recent Cycle | 40% | Initial curb on mass-aggregation |
| Upcoming Cycle | Additional 20% | Further incentive for original content |
| Long-term Goal | TBD | Prioritization of “Net New” content |
The Creator Backlash: Reach vs. Reward
Not all creators view the shift as a victory for authenticity. Some argue that the very nature of X is its ability to act as a global amplifier, and that penalizing the “amplifiers” could inadvertently hurt the original creators they are trying to protect.
Dominick McGee, a prominent influencer known as Dom Lucre, criticized the policy, noting that his own trajectory was fueled by others sharing his videos—even in cases where the content was essentially stolen. McGee argued that X serves as a “great validator” by turning posts from other apps into news, and that a steep reduction in payouts for those who share content could discourage the viral spread necessary for new creators to “blow up.”
X is the app that makes posts from other apps news. If you take that away it will no longer have the value of being the great validator and creators won’t bother posting ‘original content’ because of the 90% reduction which means original creators will never blow up.
— Dom Lucre (@dom_lucre) January 2026
The New York Times previously described McGee as a “master of outrage” and noted his high influence on the platform. His concerns highlight a tension in the creator economy: the difference between the person who creates the spark and the person who fans the flame.
Other accounts have taken a more cynical view. The pop-culture account Daily Loud suggested the move might be a financial maneuver by X to pocket the reduced payouts, speculating that creators will stay on the platform regardless because that is where their audiences reside. In an exchange with Bier, Daily Loud questioned who ultimately receives the credit—and the compensation—for original work in a system that relies so heavily on sharing.
The Definition Gap and AI Intervention
As the policy rolls out, a significant point of anxiety for users is the lack of a precise, transparent definition of what constitutes an “aggregator.” Many users who produce original content but occasionally repost news or memes fear they may be misclassified.
One user who produces original work alongside occasional reposts questioned if those occasional shares would label them an aggregator. This ambiguity has led some users to turn to Grok, X’s internal AI chatbot, for guidance. In one instance, Grok analyzed an account and determined it was “low-risk,” noting that the user offered substantive replies and promoted local content rather than relying on “BREAKING”-style bait posts or mass third-party reposts.
This reliance on algorithmic classification underscores the platform’s move toward automated moderation of its financial systems. By shifting the burden of proof to the creator—recommending voice-overs and original filming—X is pushing users toward a more traditional “producer” role.
Bier’s Broader Vision for X
The payout overhaul is the latest initiative from Nikita Bier, who joined X last summer to lead the product team. Bier has consistently focused on “authenticity” and “verification” as the primary levers for improving the user experience.
In November, Bier helped launch a location-transparency feature designed to show the country or region associated with an account. The tool was intended to help users verify content authenticity and limit the influence of coordinated troll farms. While the feature was temporarily disabled due to IP address inaccuracies affecting older accounts, it reflects the same philosophy as the payout cuts: a desire to strip away the anonymity and automation that often drive engagement at the expense of truth.
By targeting aggregators, Bier is attempting to pivot X from a platform of redistribution to a platform of origin. Whether this encourages a new wave of high-quality journalism and art, or simply reduces the income of the platform’s most efficient curators, remains to be seen.
The platform’s next major checkpoint will be the implementation of the additional 20% payout reduction in the coming cycle, which will provide more data on whether original creators are seeing a corresponding increase in their earnings.
Do you suppose rewarding original content over reach will improve the quality of your timeline? Share your thoughts in the comments or join the conversation on X.
