Twitter's new revenue-sharing program benefits blue check trolls

On Thursday, Elon Musk's Twitter officially launched a new "Creator Ads Revenue Sharing program" as both an effort to push back against immediate competitors — Bluesky creator Jay Graber and Threads creator Mark Zuckerberg — and also incentivize people to purchase (and keep) blue check accounts on the Twitter platform.

"We're expanding our creator monetization offering to include ads revenue sharing for creators," the announcement specified. "This means that creators can get a share in ad revenue, starting in the replies to their posts. This is part of our effort to help people earn a living directly on Twitter. We're rolling out the program more broadly later this month and all eligible creators will be able to apply. Go get yourself something nice!"

This new program has been pay dirt for right-wing trolls who use the site as their own personal thought toilet. According to Insider, "Andrew Tate, an influencer with more than seven million followers who is facing rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, said he was being paid $20,397. The right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong said Twitter would be paying him $16,259, and Benny Johnson, a right-wing YouTuber involved in Turning Point USA, said he'd be getting $9,546."