X Original Content Rewards, explained

What is X Original Content Rewards?

Original Content Rewards is how X pays creators for posting on the platform. X describes it as a program "designed to reward creators who produce original, high-quality content", in any format: a post, a long-form Article, a video or an image, as long as it reflects your own voice, expertise or creativity.

It replaced Creator Revenue Sharing, the program X had run since July 2023. New sign-ups to the old program stopped on August 7, 2026, it was retired on September 7, 2026, and existing members could apply to the new program from September 8, 2026. Nobody was moved across automatically.

Why X replaced Creator Revenue Sharing

X said the old program "had reached a point where its incentives were misaligned." In practice, a large share of payouts went to accounts that reposted other people's clips and headlines at high volume. Allegra Jacchia of X, quoted by TechCrunch, put the goal plainly: "Creators should be focused on bringing net new content to the platform instead of maximizing payouts."

The switch followed months of pressure on aggregators. In April 2026, head of product Nikita Bier said aggregator accounts had their payouts cut to 60% for that cycle, with another 20% cut to follow, because "flooding the timeline with 100 stolen reposts and clickbait everyday crowded-out real creators." Original Content Rewards turns that into a rule: content that isn't yours doesn't earn. More on the aggregator crackdown.

Timeline of the switch

1. Sep 25, 2026

   First Original Content Rewards payout for switchers

   Creators who moved over from Revenue Sharing and were approved from September 8 onward get their first Original Content Rewards payout, according to X.

2. ~Sep 11, 2026

   Final Creator Revenue Sharing payout

   The last Revenue Sharing payout covers earnings through September 7. X said it would arrive "on or around" September 11.

3. Sep 8, 2026

   Existing members can apply to Original Content Rewards

   X begins rolling out access for Revenue Sharing members. The eligibility status is in Creator Studio → Original Content Rewards. ID verification and payout accounts carry over.

4. Sep 7, 2026

   Creator Revenue Sharing is retired

   The program that paid X creators since 2023 ends. Earnings stop accruing under the old rules on this date.

5. Sep 2, 2026

   US payouts move to X Money

   US creators are paid through X Money instead of Stripe for Original Content Rewards and Subscriptions. Creators outside the US stay on Stripe.

6. Aug 7, 2026

   Revenue Sharing closes; Original Content Rewards announced

   X stops accepting new Revenue Sharing members and announces Original Content Rewards, which pays only for original content and lowers the impressions bar to 500,000 verified impressions in 90 days.

7. Apr 12, 2026

   Aggregator payouts cut

   Head of product Nikita Bier says aggregator and clickbait accounts had their payouts reduced to 60% for the cycle, with a further 20% cut planned for the next one.

How Original Content Rewards pays

Eligible creators earn "based on qualified impressions generated by their original content." X defines a qualified impression as:

• a unique impression (the same account viewing your post twice counts once),
• from a Premium user: a subscriber to Premium Basic, Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business,
• in the Home Timeline feed (For You and Following),
• where at least 50% of the post is visible on screen.

Paid, promoted, artificially generated and fraudulent impressions are excluded. X doesn't publish how much each qualified impression is worth, and it can change. The old program's help page said views from Premium+ subscribers "may carry more value" than views from Basic subscribers, and that "different formats may be weighted differently"; X hasn't said whether the same holds now.

What counts as original content

X defines original content as something "you have personally created – written, filmed, designed, or produced – that reflects your own voice, perspective, or expertise." That includes:

• Your own writing: posts, threads and Articles, including original reporting and analysis.
• Photos and videos you shot or produced.
• Memes, graphics and illustrations you designed.
• Commentary that adds real perspective to someone else's material, such as breaking down a news story or adding context others don't have.

What doesn't count

X lists four types of content that are not original under the program:

• Copied content: text, images or video taken from other creators, including anything downloaded from X or another platform and reuploaded.
• Minimally modified content: someone else's work with a word changed, a filter, a speed change or a text overlay.
• Aggregated content: posts that mainly compile other people's content without substantial new perspective.
• Cross-platform reposts: content from other platforms posted by someone other than its creator.

Separately, content is ineligible if it is sexually explicit or potentially harmful, created or posted by automated means, contains disinformation, has a helpful Community Note, or is "exclusively focused on monetization coaching, monetization discussion, or maximizing payouts." Being original under this program also doesn't make a post legal: X's copyright rules still apply.

Who can join

You must meet every one of these when you apply:

• Based in one of the 120 supported countries and 18 or older.
• A personal or business account in good standing (political and government accounts can't join).
• An active Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business subscription.
• At least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users in the last 90 days, not counting replies.
• At least 500 verified followers.
• You actively post original content.

Meeting them doesn't guarantee a place: you submit an application and X reviews it. If it's declined you get one appeal, and after that you can reapply in 42 days. Use the eligibility checker to see where you stand.

Rules for staying in the program

Once you're in, you keep earning only while you keep your Premium subscription and follow these rules:

• Post original, authentic content.
• No bots or tools that inflate likes, follows, views, replies or reposts.
• No tampering with the payout system or the recommendation algorithm.
• No engagement solicitation: repeatedly telling people to like, reply, bookmark, follow or repost.
• No false statements, abusive content or illegal activity connected to the program.

Depending on how serious a violation is, X can remove an account temporarily or permanently. Since March 3, 2026, posting AI-generated video of an armed conflict without an AI disclosure means a 90-day suspension from payouts, and repeat violations end payouts for good.

How payouts reach you

Payouts are processed every two weeks with a $30 minimum. US creators are paid through X Money (since September 2, 2026); creators elsewhere connect a Stripe account and verify their identity through Stripe. If you already verified your ID and connected a payout method for Revenue Sharing, you don't have to do it again. Details, dates and troubleshooting are in how X payouts work and on the payout calendar.