X Ends Revenue Sharing Programme and Launches Original Content Rewards for Creators

X announced on 7 August 2026 that it is winding down its current Revenue Sharing programme and will no longer accept new applications to the scheme. Existing participants will continue earning under the old arrangement until 7 September 2026, after which the programme closes permanently.

The company is replacing it with a new scheme called Original Content Rewards, which X says is designed to direct payouts towards creators producing original posts and authored material rather than reposts, aggregations, or copied content.

What X Is Changing and Why

According to X’s Help Centre material and multiple reports covering the 7 August announcement, the old Revenue Sharing programme is being replaced rather than expanded. X has framed the move as a shift away from engagement-driven payouts that, by its own account, had been susceptible to gaming through reposts and recycled content.

The new Original Content Rewards programme will, according to reported criteria, prioritise original reporting, commentary, analysis, and creator-made material. The company hasn’t published a full breakdown of its payout formula, but the direction of travel is clear: if you’re not making original content, the new scheme isn’t built for you.

Payout Timeline for Existing Members

Current Revenue Sharing participants will receive final payments on three reported dates: 14 August 2026, 28 August 2026, and a closing payment around 11 September 2026 covering earnings accrued up to the 7 September cutoff. Those dates come from multiple reports citing X’s announcement directly.

So there’s a brief overlap. The old programme ends on 7 September; the final payment for earnings up to that date lands a few days later, around 11 September. Existing members who want to continue monetising on X will then need to apply for the new programme, with access to do so opening from 8 September 2026.

Who Qualifies for Original Content Rewards

The eligibility bar for the new scheme is higher than what many creators encountered when joining the old Revenue Sharing programme. According to reported X programme criteria, applicants must be at least 18 years old, hold an active X Premium subscription, have a minimum of 500 verified followers, and have accumulated at least 500,000 verified home timeline impressions over the preceding 90 days — with replies excluded from that count.

That last threshold is the one that will catch people out. Half a million impressions in 90 days is a meaningful hurdle; it’s not impossible for mid-sized creators, but it does filter out casual or smaller accounts that may have been earning modest amounts under the old arrangement.

One figure that circulated on social media — a reported minimum monthly payout for the new programme — has not been independently confirmed across the available sources, so that number isn’t included here.

The Broader Context

X’s move reflects a wider tension that’s been building on creator monetisation platforms for several years. Schemes that pay based on engagement metrics tend to attract content farming: accounts that repost viral material, lift tweets from other users, or flood timelines with aggregated content designed to rack up impressions rather than add anything original.

By tying rewards explicitly to original content and setting a higher impressions threshold, X is betting that creators who generate genuine engagement will stay — and that those gaming the system will find the new bar too high to clear.

Whether that bet pays off depends on how the company defines and enforces “original.” That remains an open question, and X has not published detailed guidance on how it will distinguish original posts from reposts or lightly modified content at scale.

Some creators have welcomed the stated emphasis on originality. Others who relied on the old scheme for supplementary income — chiefly smaller accounts that had been earning modest but consistent payouts — face either requalifying under tougher terms or losing that income stream entirely.

What This Means for Kent Residents

Kent-based creators who have been earning through X’s Revenue Sharing programme should note the 7 September 2026 cutoff and the three final payout dates, and consider whether their content output and follower numbers meet the new Original Content Rewards thresholds. Local journalists, bloggers, and independent commentators using X to monetise original work may find the new scheme more suited to what they already produce — but only if they can clear the 500,000 impressions requirement. For anyone currently on the old scheme who doesn’t qualify for the replacement, the income from X will stop after the final September payment.