News

X says it’s reducing payments to clickbait accounts

Media & Entertainment News | TechCrunch · Anthony Ha · last updated

X is cutting back on payments to accounts that are “flooding the timeline” with clickbait and rapid-fire news aggregation, according to its head of product Nikita Bier

Bier wrote Saturday that “[a]ll aggregators had their payouts reduced to 60% this cycle” and said they’ll see another 20% reduction in the next pay cycle. He also said the Elon Musk-owned social network will be reducing payments for “habitual bait posters who use ‘🚨BREAKING’ on every post.”

“It became abundantly clear: flooding the timeline with 100 stolen reposts and clickbait everyday crowded-out real creators and hurt new author growth,” Bier said, adding, “X will never infringe on speech or reach — but we will not compensate for manipulation of the program or our users.”

Related Knowledge Center: Social media

State of Play

Social media platforms are the source of news for millions of people — and they have a fraught and ever-shifting relationship with the enterprises that provide that news.

The TikTok ban | The Meta-FTC trial


More informationabout Social media

Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model

State of Play

The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.

Artificial intelligence


More informationabout State of the business model