Jonathan

I’m going to say the truth. I’m a Muslim Palestinian on X. Yesterday my X payouts went from $8,000 every 2 weeks to $1,000. I complained about it to @nikitabier. Many Zionist accounts targeted me. Told him to remove my monetization. 3 hours later, my monetization is gone. Look… if it’s temporary, I get it. I deserve it. But if it’s a permanent ban, then hear me out: The rollout of creator payouts on X initially transformed the platform into a place where time invested actually paid off for many users. Engagement translated into real revenue, encouraging consistent posting, community building, and honest discourse. It rewarded creators who showed up daily, fostering an ecosystem that felt merit-based and alive. But now, the signals from the platform point in the opposite direction: reduced visibility for certain content, algorithmic tweaks that favor “original” or “high-quality” posts while punishing others, and reports of sudden drops in impressions for accounts that step outside approved lanes. We’re essentially being told we shouldn’t spend as much time here anymore, at least not in the ways that built the payout culture in the first place. That shift undermines the very incentive structure that kept users hooked and contributing. This creates a deeper problem. People won’t simply stop engaging because the algorithm or moderation policies discourage it; they’ll adapt in messy ways. Some will chase whatever metrics still reward visibility, leading to more performative, low-effort content or echo chambers. Others will grow frustrated, posting less or migrating frustrations elsewhere. The result is more division & chaos, not less. When the promise of open participation collides with opaque restrictions, whether labeled as anti-spam, anti-manipulation, or “freedom of speech, not reach”, trust erodes. Users feel gaslit: the platform profited from our time and attention when it suited growth and revenue goals, only to dial back the oxygen once that foundation was laid. We all know the trajectory this follows. It starts with throttled reach for posts that don’t align with evolving internal priorities. Then come temporary restrictions, demonetization, or “temporary labels.” Eventually, for too many, it escalates to full suspension or permanent silencing. Elon Musk positioned X as the free speech platform, a digital town square where ideas could compete without legacy gatekeepers. Yet persistent complaints about shadowbanning, especially for critics of the platform or its owner, alongside massive account suspensions (hundreds of millions cited for manipulation in recent years) and selective deboosting reveal the gap between rhetoric and reality. “Freedom of speech, not reach” sounds principled until reach becomes the quiet enforcer of conformity. Payout incentives pulled creators in; visibility controls risk pushing them out or forcing self-censorship to stay viable. That’s why I’m dropping all my links here: link.me/jvnior. I’m stepping back to focus on streaming. I will post a YouTube video that lays out everything that’s unfolded on X since January. The threats on my life, the defamation, the doxxing, the false reports, the bans. Everything. I truly appreciate every bit of support from everyone along the way. I love you all. I’m going take a break unless @nikitabier responds to me. This break is necessary for my mental health as this is weighing heavier than it should. I never did this for money. But if X genuinely wants to retain the creators who built its energy, it needs to confront whether it’s truly delivering on the free speech promise or just managing a more sophisticated version of a dictatorship. The chaos ahead won’t fix itself.