Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has just announced a new policy change. The new rule is for accounts that repost viral videos and memes created by others in order to earn money through engagement. Through this move, X aims at reducing what users often describe as the platform’s “copycat economy,” where large repost accounts benefit from millions of views while original creators receive little recognition or revenue for the content.
The change comes at a time when X continues to expand its creator monetisation programme. Under which it pays eligible users based on impressions and engagement generated by their posts.
What is the new rule?
According to X’s head of product Nikita Bier, the company has identified several accounts that were “programmatically reuploading” videos and clips from smaller creators to exploit the revenue-sharing system.
To address the issue, X will now detect copied uploads and redirect most of the impressions and monetisation benefits to the original creator instead of repost accounts. The company says the update is designed to reward people who actually create content rather than those who simply repost trending material first.
“Over the past month, we have identified several large accounts that have been programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts to game the revenue share program and circumvent crediting the original author,” Bier wrote in a post on X.
The latest move is part of a push by the platform to prioritise original content and reduce engagement farming.
Commentary and reactions are still allowed
While X is tightening rules around reposted videos, the platform clarified that commentary, reactions, and discussions around viral content will still be allowed. Nikita Bier encouraged users to use X’s “Share Video” and “Quote” features instead of downloading and reuploading clips separately.
He also explained that users who add meaningful commentary or analysis through quote posts may still receive a portion of impressions. However, the original upload will continue to receive the majority share of visibility and monetisation benefits.
“Commentary is encouraged and will get a portion of impressions. However, original posts will always get the bulk of the allocation,” he explained.
Some users pointed out issues with the Share Video tool, claiming that videos turn into simple links when posts exceed 280 characters. Responding to the complaints, Nikita Bier acknowledged the issue and said it was a bug that would be fixed soon.
Policy aims to protect original creators
The update reflects a wider trend across social media platforms where companies are trying to reward original creators over aggregation pages and repost accounts. Earlier this year, X had also indicated that it was experimenting with systems to identify original authors and allocate a larger portion of creator payouts to them.