LOS ANGELES — Twitter made a significant announcement on Thursday, stating that it would be implementing ad revenue sharing with content creators for the first time. However, this offer will not be extended to all creators.
The initial beneficiaries of this program seem to be a group of high-profile far-right influencers who boasted about their earnings prior to the official announcement. Influencers such as Ian Miles Cheong, Benny Johnson, and Ashley St. Claire all took to Twitter to share their earnings, with tweets like, “Wow. Elon Musk wasn’t kidding. Content monetization is real,” accompanied by screenshots showing substantial earnings.
Among the influencers who publicly revealed their participation in the program are predominantly right-wing figures. For instance, Andrew Tate, who was recently released from jail on rape and human trafficking charges, disclosed that he had been paid over $20,000 by Twitter.
Far-right influencer Rogan O’Handley, known as DC Draino, also expressed his satisfaction, tweeting, “This is a nice turnaround from being banned by Twitter 1.0 for almost 2 years to now being paid to post. Thank you @elonmusk.”
However, not all prominent right-wing contributors on Twitter seem to be part of this program. When asked if she was involved, Chaya Raichik, the creator of @libsoftiktok, responded playfully, mentioning her thriving relationship with Musk but did not confirm whether she was receiving payments under the program.
Elon Musk has yet to respond to the request for comment sent to him via email at Twitter and SpaceX, another company he owns.
Kris Ruby, a conservative influencer and president of Ruby Media Group, mentioned that there are some conservative content creators who are dissatisfied with the program. She believes that the playing field isn’t level, and not all conservatives have been included in the program despite meeting all the criteria. Ruby explains, “Most conservatives don’t want to go up against the wrath of Elon and what happens when you criticize him. We’ve seen that he’s not really applying the terms of service equally across the board.”
Twitter has stated in a blog post that creators’ share of advertising revenue will be calculated based on the number of replies to their posts and monthly impressions. The program will only be available in countries where Stripe, a payment platform, supports payouts, and recipients must subscribe to Twitter Blue, the platform’s monthly subscription service, to be eligible.
However, not all creators who wish to monetize their content will be able to do so. Those who apply for the program will undergo a “human review” process, but there is currently no open application for those interested in joining.
While some non-political contributors expressed frustration with the lack of transparency surrounding the program’s rollout, others viewed it as a mere PR stunt. Former Twitter executives who worked on creator-focused products doubt the sustainability of this rollout, with one of them commenting that “any kind of content monetization we’ve done in the past was based on a revenue model. This just feels pulled out of thin air for a specific subset of creators that he wanted to placate.”
Content creators, such as Latasha James, a full-time YouTube creator, feel that Twitter is too unpredictable and unstable for investing excessive time and effort. James stated, “As a creator, I seek out monetization opportunities with brands and platforms that seem well-funded and stable. Twitter has been the opposite of stable for the past year, so I’d definitely be wary of relying on their monetization program to make a living.”
Critics argue that even if Elon Musk were to offer payouts to every creator, the site’s apparent rightward shift would deter them from posting. Musicians and content creators, like Rathbone DeBuys from New Orleans, feel that Musk is controlling the platform by censoring certain speech and amplifying others, choosing who has a voice and who doesn’t.
Lu Levy, a YouTube content creator and digital business coach, shares a similar sentiment. He believes that Musk’s actions contradict his values, and he already receives good monetization on other platforms like YouTube. Therefore, going against his beliefs is not worth it.
The timing of Musk’s announcement coincides with Instagram’s announcement that their Twitter-like app, Threads, surpassed 100 million sign-ups in less than a week, making it the fastest-growing app in history. Public relations firm owner Jordan Lintz believes that Threads should take notes from Twitter’s monetization offerings, stating that the platform with the best monetization options will win the retention race.
Content creator and digital culture expert Jules Terpak finds the prospect of earning money from posts appealing as someone who tweets frequently. However, she remains cautious, as content theft and bots remain unresolved issues. Additionally, considering Twitter’s struggles with retaining advertising revenue, Terpak wonders if this monetization scheme is sustainable in the long run.
In conclusion, Twitter’s new ad revenue sharing program has sparked mixed reactions. While some far-right influencers celebrate their earnings, others feel excluded and question the fairness of the program. Additionally, concerns remain regarding the transparency, sustainability, and impact on creators’ decision to continue posting on the platform.
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