X announced the introduction of a new “Paid Partnership” label for creators to indicate sponsored posts, aiming to help them maintain authenticity and comply with regulations requiring clear disclosure of ads on social media.
The feature is designed to help creators comply with disclosure rules without using hashtags, which are seen as passé. Previously, X creators lacked a built-in disclosure tool and relied on hashtags like #paidpartnership and #ad. Instagram’s Threads competitor eliminated the hash symbol entirely when it launched. With the new feature, creators can toggle a “content disclose” setting to apply the Paid Partnership label below their post content. The label can also be applied after posting if the creator forgot to use the option initially.
X’s head of product, Nikitia Bier, stated that the feature promotes transparency with followers and compliance with federal regulations. “While we want to encourage people to build their businesses on X, undisclosed promotions hurt the integrity of the product and lead people to distrust the content they read on X,” Bier stated. Bier noted that undisclosed promotions hurt platform integrity and lead to user distrust.
X has previously offered payouts for viral content, ad-revenue sharing, and creator subscriptions to attract creators. The platform has struggled to draw creators who prefer Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms for audience reach. Last week, X announced API changes to prevent programmatic replies unless the original author @mentioned the replying user or was quoted. The API change aims to reduce LLM-generated spam and AI-generated fake customer replies to ads and sponsored content.
