X launches Original Content Rewards Program to replace ad revenue sharing

X is no longer accepting new applications for its revenue-sharing program and will fully close it after September 7.

The website has introduced the new Original Content Rewards Program to replace the old one. According to X, it will “reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity and commentary to X.”

With the new program, creators can earn money based on the number of qualified impressions their original content receives.

The website defines original content as users’ own writing or reporting, photos or videos they take, and memes or illustrations they make.

Users can also earn from other people’s posts, but only if they add meaningful commentary or analysis, or creatively edit existing videos or photos.

If a user only adds captions or text overlays to someone else’s content that just describe what is happening, it will not count as original. In short, if a user’s contribution adds little or no value, it is not considered “original content” under X’s policy.

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To qualify for the new rewards program, users must be at least 18 years old and live in a country where the program is available, as shown on X’s help page.

Users also need to pay for a Premium, Premium+, or Premium Business subscription, have at least 500 verified followers, and get at least 500,000 Home timeline views from verified users in the past 90 days.

This means that for impressions or views to count, they must be unique impressions from Premium users. Creators also need to keep meeting these requirements after joining the program to keep getting paid.

People already in X’s revenue-sharing program will need to reapply to the new program when they become eligible on September 8. Anyone who was not in the old program can now apply for original content rewards.

In March, X changed its revenue-sharing program to place greater emphasis on engagement from users’ home regions.

This change was probably meant to stop users from pretending to be Americans, after it was found that many popular accounts posting pro-Trump messages and US commentary were not actually based in the country. It is unclear whether X’s new program will have the same rule.