X reinstates Ye, rolls out revenue-sharing program for creators

X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has reinstated the account of Ye, the person formerly known as Kanye West.

However, Ye “won’t be eligible to monetize his account on X, and advertisements won’t appear next to his posts,” according to the Wall Street Journal. As of publication, Ye hadn’t posted since his account was reinstated.

Ye’s account was suspended in December after the rapper posted a tweet that included a picture of a swastika. “I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended,” Elon Musk tweeted at the time. In October, Ye’s account was locked following an antisemitic tweet, though he returned in November.

“X reinstated West’s account after receiving reassurance that he wouldn’t use the platform to share antisemitic or otherwise harmful language,” per the Journal. X had not responded to Marketing Brew’s request for comment at publication time. 

Ye’s account being reinstated is one of a number of changes happening at X, which recently rebranded from Twitter. Its bird logo was removed from the company’s headquarters in San Francisco last week, replaced by a flashing “X.” The new sign, however, has already been removed; the company installed it without a permit.

As the company rebrands, it also rolled out a revenue-sharing program for creators last month, which Musk first announced in February. The Washington Post noted that the “first beneficiaries appear to be high-profile far-right influencers.”

In order to be eligible for the program, users must be subscribed to Blue or be a “Verified Organization,” have at least 15 million impressions across all posts over the past three months, and have a minimum of 500 followers.

Once eligible users opt in, they will “receive payouts at a regular cadence as long as [they] have generated more than $50,” the company said on its website.

On Monday, X filed a lawsuit against a British nonprofit that fights hate speech, “accusing it of asserting false claims and encouraging advertisers to pause investment on the platform,” per Reuters, which also reported that the company reorganized its trust and safety team. Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino will both oversee the team moving forward, it said.