X Deletes Nearly 4,000 Accounts from Monetisation Programme, Issues New Rules for Nigerians, Others
- X (formerly Twitter) head of product, Nikita Bier, has announced on July 16, 2026, that nearly 4,000 accounts were removed from the creator revenue share programme in a single day
- X's updated AI model detected 1.5 million stolen posts in one cycle, catching duplicated content at three times the rate of the previous system
- The crackdown means over $1 million (N1.3 billion) will be redirected to original content creators, with repeated violations risking full account suspension
X's head of product, Nikita Bier, has announced on July 16, 2026, that almost 4,000 accounts had been removed from the platform's creator revenue share programme in a single day, sending shockwaves through creator communities in Nigeria and across the globe.
Bier shared the update directly on X, outlining two major changes now in effect.
Source: Getty Images
According to Bier, the first targets engagement solicitation, where creators who ask their followers for likes, replies, or follows in exchange for reciprocal actions face immediate removal from the programme.
Accounts flagged three or more times are also forwarded to X's policy team for possible suspension. According to Bier, the platform's AI tool, Grok, now catches all such violations automatically.
X catches 1.5 million stolen posts
The second change targets content theft, and the scale of what was uncovered is striking.
X's updated detection model identified 1.5 million posts it classified as stolen during the latest cycle, a rate three times higher than what the previous system could manage.
The platform now flags duplicated content even when creators attempt to disguise it by adding watermarks, introductory clips, or minor edits.
In those cases, any monetised impressions earned from the post are redirected to the original creator rather than the person who copied it.
Bier noted that even viral text posts are being caught, citing one commonly recycled line as an example. Creators found to intentionally or repeatedly bypass these rules face removal from the programme entirely.
With the two changes combined, Bier said more than $1 million (N1.3 billion) would be returned to the creators who originally produced the content.
One grace period was also announced. Creators who solicited engagements on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of that week to celebrate a recent algorithm change were excluded from the removals, as Bier acknowledged many did so without realising it violated programme rules.
See Nikita Bier's original post:
Nigerians react to X Creator programme crackdown
The announcement drew swift reactions from Nigerian users, many of whom had strong feelings about both the removals and the content theft issue.
@mezie_kingpin said:
"Thank God say no be X dey feed me o. If not I for dey shake for this una weekly rules. 😂"
@Kachi077 said:
"Big accounts stealing post from small accounts without appreciating our efforts....Una don hear am?...This matter go long."
@TosinOlugbenga said:
"Hi Nikita. What of those that screenshot other people's tweets and post as theirs?"
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that a man had received a multi-million naira alert from X.
Nigerian lady receives her first X payment
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a Nigerian lady had celebrated getting her first payment from X after monetising her account.
She mentioned how she got her account monetised in just 18 days as she displayed the message she got from X.
The lady displayed the mail she got from X, which revealed the exact amount she was paid.
Source: Legit.ng
