Musk Steps In as X Attempts to Cap Earnings for International Creators

X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, recently revealed a shift in the platform’s creator payout structure, but Elon Musk has indicated that this change won’t be implemented just yet.

Bier announced that the new payment model will prioritize impressions from a creator’s home region. This adjustment seems aimed at curbing engagement farming through political content, with Bier noting, “While we appreciate everyone’s opinion on American politics, we hope this will disincentivize gaming the attention of US or Japanese accounts.”

This potential change appears to be a response to concerns raised last November when X introduced a feature that displayed the locations of user accounts. It became evident that many accounts heavily discussing American politics were not actually based in the US, including numerous users claiming to be American. Although X quickly removed the location data feature, they added disclaimers about how travel, VPNs, and proxies could lead to misleading location information.

In a reply to another user, Bier specifically addressed political content, stating, “Of course, you’re welcome to continue chiming in on American politics. We just won’t send money overseas for that content.”

However, Musk later posted that they would be pausing the rollout of this update for further consideration. The changes to creator payouts were initially set to go live on Thursday, but it seems that timeline has shifted following Musk’s comments.