X (formerly Twitter) has announced a $1 million prize for the top long-form Article in the next creator payout period.

This was shared by
@cb_doge
on January 16, 2026 (late evening UTC), and quickly reposted/endorsed by Elon Musk. The post received strong engagement: over 2,700 likes, 390+ reposts, 700+ replies, and 150k+ views within hours.Key details from the announcement and follow-up clarifications:
  • X is officially calling 2026 "the year of the creator" and is heavily pushing long-form writing.
  • Goal: Reward high-quality, high-impact written content that shapes conversations, breaks news, or moves culture.
  • The $1M is specifically for the #1 Article (not videos, short posts, or threads) in the upcoming payout cycle.
  • Articles must be:
    • Original content
    • At least 1,000 words
    • Published using X's Articles feature (now available to all Premium users)
  • Judging is based primarily on Verified Home Timeline impressions (i.e., views from Premium/verified users in their main feed).
  • Eligibility appears restricted to US creators (at least for this $1M prize).
  • Content that violates X policies (hateful, fraudulent, manipulative, etc.) is disqualified.
  • This sits alongside the regular creator revenue sharing program (ads in replies, etc.), which X says had its highest payouts ever in 2025.
The attached short video in the original post is a simple text overlay announcement with dramatic music, emphasizing "It's time to write on 𝕏".Community reactions (from the replies and quotes):
  • Many writers and creators are excited and planning to publish Articles soon.
  • Others are skeptical, pointing out that impression-based ranking heavily favors large accounts with existing reach → small or mid-sized creators may have almost no realistic chance.
  • Some users joked about specific topics (e.g., "grok has money") or worried about moderation/"misinformation" flags hurting their odds.
Overall, this looks like X's biggest incentive yet to turn the platform into a serious home for in-depth writing and blogging — competing more directly with Substack, Medium, and even parts of YouTube — while still tying rewards tightly to engagement and Premium-user visibility.If you're thinking about participating, focus on viral-friendly but high-quality topics, strong headlines, and timing posts when your audience (or Premium users) are most active. Good luck if you go for it! ✍️