New Delhi: X has started tightening its creator payout system, and this time the focus is on accounts that flood timelines with clickbait and fast news aggregation. The move comes after several accounts, including some conservative news handles, said they received emails about demonetisation.
The platform’s head of product Nikita Bier confirmed the change, saying the goal is to reduce incentives for behaviour that crowds out original creators. I have seen this trend myself. Open X for five minutes and your feed gets packed with “🚨BREAKING” posts, often repeating the same story again and again.
All aggregators had their payouts reduced to 60% this cycle. We will add another 20% deduction in the next cycle.
It became abundantly clear: flooding the timeline with 100 stolen reposts and clickbait everyday crowded-out real creators and hurt new author growth.
The next step…
— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) April 11, 2026
X cuts payouts for aggregators and clickbait posts
Bier said the payout changes are already in motion. According to him, “In this cycle, payments to all aggregators have been reduced to 60%.” He added, “And they will see a further 20% reduction in the next payout cycle.”
The platform is clearly targeting a specific pattern of posting. Accounts that push high volumes of reposted news or use attention-grabbing labels in almost every post are now seeing lower earnings.
He explained the reasoning in direct terms. “It has become absolutely clear: filling the feed with hundreds of stolen reposts and daily clickbait was pushing out real creators and harming the growth of new authors.”
What kind of X accounts are being hit
The changes affect:
- High-volume news aggregators
- Accounts reposting content without adding value
- Users who overuse tags like “🚨BREAKING” in daily posts
Bier made it clear that this is about money, not reach. “X will never limit freedom of expression or reach – but we will not compensate for platform manipulation or our users.”
Creator economy on X
This signals a larger shift in how X values content. The platform is trying to reward original posts over speed and volume. For publishers and journalists, this could mean less competition from recycled content. For aggregators, it could mean a sharp drop in income.
There is still a question hanging in the air. X drives traffic to external sites, but if aggregation gets penalised, will that traffic fall too. That answer may come in the next few payout cycles.