- Updated: March 26, 2026
- 5 min read
X Creator Payout Controversy Sparks Debate Over Political Content Monetization
Skip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonThe VergeThe Verge logo.X tries to limit creator revenue for foreign influencers but Musk intervenesTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsCreatorsCloseCreatorsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All CreatorsX tries to limit creator revenue for foreign influencers but Musk intervenesThe pending update would disincentivize X users from posting about American politics from outside the US.The pending update would disincentivize X users from posting about American politics from outside the US. by Stevie BonifieldCloseStevie BonifieldNews WriterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Stevie BonifieldMar 25, 2026, 5:23 PM UTCLinkShareGiftX wants to make money on previously used handles.Image: The VergeStevie BonifieldCloseStevie BonifieldPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Stevie Bonifield is a news writer covering all things consumer tech. Stevie started out at Laptop Mag writing news and reviews on hardware, gaming, and AI.X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, announced a change to the platform’s creator payouts on Tuesday, but according to Elon Musk, the change isn’t going live just yet.Bier shared a post announcing that in determining payments, X “will be giving more weight to impressions from your home region.” The motivation appears to be discouraging engagement farming via political posts, with Bier adding that, “While we appreciate everyone’s opinion on American politics, we hope this will disincentivize gaming the attention of US or Japanese accounts.”The pending change could be an effort to address an issue that was highlighted in November when X rolled out a feature showing where users’ accounts are based from. The feature revealed that many accounts posting prolifically about American politics are not based in the US, including many users claiming to be Americans. X quickly removed information about where accounts were created, though, and added disclaimers about travel, VPNs, and proxies potentially leading to inaccurate location data.Bier specifically called out political content in a response to another X user’s reply to his original post, commenting, “Of course, you’re welcome to continue chiming in on America [sic] politics. We just won’t send money overseas for that content.”However, Musk replied several hours later in a post stating, “We will pause moving forward with this until further consideration.” The update to creator payouts was supposed to roll out on Thursday, but it sounds like that will no longer be the case after Musk’s follow-up post.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Stevie BonifieldCloseStevie BonifieldNews WriterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Stevie BonifieldCreatorsCloseCreatorsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All CreatorsNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechTwitter – XCloseTwitter – XPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Twitter – XMost PopularMost PopularThe United States router ban, explainedSony and Honda ain’t feelin’ the Afeela anymoreSeiko resurrected a 44-year-old digital watch NASA astronauts wore to spaceThe best deals we’ve found from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (so far)Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says ‘I think we’ve achieved AGI’The Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adMore in TechThe best deals we’ve found from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (so far)The portable Fanttik X9 Pro tire inflator is down to its best price in monthsMeta is laying off hundreds of employees as it pours money into AIRazer’s new Blade 16 gaming laptop has an Intel Panther Lake chip and very fast RAMThe United States router ban, explainedMeta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction caseThe best deals we’ve found from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (so far)Sheena VasaniMar 25The portable Fanttik X9 Pro tire inflator is down to its best price in monthsSheena VasaniMar 25Meta is laying off hundreds of employees as it pours money into AIEmma RothMar 25Razer’s new Blade 16 gaming laptop has an Intel Panther Lake chip and very fast RAMAntonio G. 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Andrii Bidochko
CTO UBOS
Andrii Bidochko is an AI entrepreneur and researcher focused on AI agents, reinforcement learning, and autonomous systems. He writes about the technologies shaping the future of machine intelligence, from frontier models and agent architectures to real-world AI applications.