X cracks down on stolen content and repost accounts
26 May 2026

Elon Musk's social media platform, X, is cracking down on accounts that repost viral videos from smaller creators.

The move is aimed at curbing engagement farming and monetization abuse on the platform's revenue-sharing program.

Nikita Bier, X's Head of Product, announced the crackdown in a post on the platform.

"We have identified a number of large accounts that have been programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts to game the revenue share program and circumvent crediting the original author," Bier said.

Bier suggests using 'Share Video' or 'Quote' features for attribution
Countermeasures

Bier revealed that X will now identify reposted videos and allocate impressions entirely to the original creator. This is part of an effort to ensure that credit goes where it's due.

He also suggested users use X's "Share Video" or "Quote" features for posts with added commentary, ensuring proper attribution.

This move is part of a larger strategy by X to reduce payouts for accounts that rely on repackaging others' work for monetizable engagement.

Larger accounts won't earn from reposts
Creator concerns

The decision to crack down on content theft comes after a recent complaint from an X creator, who alleged that larger accounts were regularly reposting their videos without proper credit.

An X employee had said in response, "the larger accounts won't earn from these posts since you are the original owner and poster of the video."

Addressing the copycat economy on X
Revenue impact

X's current Creator Revenue Sharing program had inadvertently created a copycat economy.

Large verified accounts discovered they could make thousands of dollars by downloading and reposting trending videos before the original creator's content gained traction on the platform.

With this update, X seems to be closing that loophole and rewarding original creators for their content.