"How X users can earn thousands from US election misinformation and AI images," 29 October 2024

Some users on X who spend their days sharing content that includes election misinformation, AI-generated images and unfounded conspiracy theories say they are being paid "thousands of dollars" by the social media site.

The BBC identified networks of dozens of accounts that re-share each other's content multiple times a day - including a mix of true, unfounded, false and faked material - to boost their reach, and therefore, revenue on the site. Some of these networks support Donald Trump, others Kamala Harris, and some are independent. Several of these profiles - which say they are not connected to official campaigns - have been contacted by US politicians, including congressional candidates, looking for supportive posts.

On 9 October, X changed its rules so the payments made to eligible accounts with a significant reach are calculated according to the amount of engagement from premium users - likes, shares and comments - rather than the number of ads under their posts.

Many social media sites allow users to make money from their posts or to share sponsored content. But they often have rules which allow them to de-monetise or suspend profiles that post misinformation. X does not have guidelines on misinformation in the same way...

X did not respond to questions about whether the site is incentivising users to post like this, nor to requests to interview owner Elon Musk...

X says online that its priority is to protect and defend the user's voice. The site adds manipulated media labels to some AI-generated and doctored video, audio and images. It also has a feature called Community Notes, which crowdsources fact-checking from users...