Twitter's New Earnings Sharing Program Sparks Controversy
After a year of struggling to retain ad revenue, Twitter has announced a new earnings sharing program that will reward a select group of controversial influencers on the platform.
While Twitter’s announcement of a share of ad revenue for “high-quality creators” on the social platform may sound like a good thing, the reality is that Twitter is rewarding controversial Twitter users with payment. This marks a concerning step for a platform that has struggled with the presence of right-wing, misogynistic, and transphobic content. The new program also marks a clear response to the growing popularity of alternative platforms like Threads, where influencers have expressed their intention to leave Twitter.
In a blog post, Twitter says that it will start sharing “a portion of ad revenue” with users who meet certain requirements. The feature is currently only available in countries where Stripe supports payouts, but Twitter says that it will expand to other countries in the future.
Initially, the program has been rolled out to an initial group of creators who will be invited to accept payment, with the option to decline if they don’t want to receive payment. To be eligible, creators must be subscribed to Twitter Blue or Verified Organizations, have at least 5 million impressions on their posts for each of the previous three months, and pass human review for Creator Monetization Standards.
Creator Monetization Standards are set by Twitter and include having a fully completed profile and not having violated Twitter rules. Notably, the program seems to have benefited mostly high-profile, far-right influencers, such as Ian Miles Cheong, Benny Johnson, and Ashley St. Claire.
Andrew Tate, a notorious right-wing grifter who has been banned from Twitter and YouTube, claimed to have been paid over $20,000 by Twitter after joining the program. However, not all right-wing influencers are part of the program and many non-political accounts have been left out.
Twitter’s new program also marks a response to the growing popularity of alternative platforms and the potential loss of ad revenue. Threads, a new social network that launched in beta in October, seeks to become the go-to destination for influencers who wish to leave Twitter behind.
Originally marketed as a social network for gamers, many prominent figures in tech and media have expressed their desire to become part of Threads. Threads’ investors have also included Discord and Google, which means that the new platform could prove to be a serious competitor to Twitter.
In order to maintain the engagement of right-wing influencers, Twitter has come up with a monetization scheme that incentivizes controversial content.
