X pivots creator payments toward original content

The transition begins immediately as X stops accepting new applicants into the legacy program. Existing participants will retain their current earning status until September 7, with applications for the new system opening the following day. To qualify, creators must maintain a Premium subscription, possess at least 500 verified followers, and generate 500,000 home timeline impressions from verified users over a 90-day window.

Allegra Jacchia, writing on behalf of the company, noted that the previous system reached a point where incentives were misaligned. The new policy mandates that content must offer significant original value, effectively disqualifying simple re-uploads or low-effort reposts. While commentary remains eligible, users who aggregate third-party material must now demonstrate a meaningful transformation of that content to remain eligible for compensation. This move follows previous attempts to penalize clickbait accounts—efforts that previously faced significant creator backlash and forced policy reversals under Elon Musk.