X is officially cracking down on accounts that flood the platform with rapid-fire news aggregation and clickbait. According to Nikita Bier, head of product at the Elon Musk-owned social network, the company is aggressively reducing monetization for users who prioritize volume over original content.
Targeting “Breaking News” Spam
The policy shift involves significant cuts to creator payouts. Bier confirmed that news aggregators saw their earnings reduced by 40% in the current cycle, with an additional 20% reduction scheduled for the next period. Furthermore, accounts that habitually use “🚨BREAKING” to inflate engagement are facing direct monetization penalties.
“It became abundantly clear: flooding the timeline with 100 stolen reposts and clickbait everyday crowded-out real creators and hurt new author growth,” Bier stated. He emphasized that while X remains committed to free speech, it will not compensate users for manipulating the platform’s revenue program.
Creators Push Back Against Demonetization
The announcement follows a wave of notifications sent to various high-profile accounts, particularly those in the conservative political sphere, informing them of their sudden demonetization. Among those affected is Dominick McGee, known as Dom Lucre, who claims to have lost his revenue stream despite having 1.6 million followers.
McGee, who previously reported earning $55,000 annually from the platform, expressed frustration over the lack of transparency regarding these cuts. While he denied relying on clickbait, community notes on his own posts have highlighted his frequent use of the “BREAKING” tag, casting doubt on his claims of being a “hard-working creator” focused on original content.
Collateral Damage or Necessary Cleanup?
The crackdown has sparked concern among other creators who fear being caught in the net unintentionally. Accounts like PoliMath have reported their lowest payouts in recent memory, sparking fears that the algorithm’s aggressive filtering may be misidentifying legitimate accounts as “aggregators.”
Broader Tensions on the Platform
This initiative coincides with intensifying debates regarding the health of the X ecosystem. Data analyst Nate Silver recently criticized the platform for its declining ability to drive traffic to external websites and its perceived bias toward right-wing influencers. While both Musk and Bier have dismissed Silver’s data as inaccurate, independent analyses have increasingly supported the notion that the platform’s current structure hampers traditional news publishers.