Elon Musk's X Is Offering $1 Million For The Best Article - And It's A Big Bet On Long-Form Content

By Mohd Haider | January 17, 2026, 12:22 AM

Elon Musk‘s X has announced a $1 million reward for the top article in the next payout period. This initiative is part of X’s commitment to recognize and promote high-impact, original content.

Initiative Aims to Boost High-Quality Content

On Friday, X announced via its official account, XCreators, which supports and updates content creators, that it plans to award a $1 million prize to the top article in the upcoming payout period.

The post noted, “We’re doubling down on what creators on 𝕏 do best: writing.”

According to XCreators, the initiative is designed to encourage creators to produce high-quality, original content that sparks conversation, breaks news and shapes culture.

We're trying something new: we're giving $1 million to the Top Article of the next payout period.

We're doubling down on what creators on 𝕏 do best: writing.

In 2026, our goal is to recognize high-value, high-impact content that shapes conversation, breaks news and moves… pic.twitter.com/4hKBJNvNIg
— Creators (@XCreators) January 16, 2026

The winning article must be original, a minimum of 1,000 words and will be primarily judged based on Verified Home Timeline impressions.

The official announcement states that content that violates X’s policies or is hateful, fraudulent, or manipulative will not be taken into consideration, and that only users in the United States are eligible.

Additionally, X recently expanded access to its Articles feature to all Premium users, providing a new avenue for creators to publish long-form content, build an audience, and earn on the platform.

The company has also encouraged creators, writers, journalists, and thought leaders to seize this opportunity and share their ideas for the platform’s future in 2026.

Creators, writers, journalists, thought leaders:

If long-form is your craft, this is your moment to double down on 𝕏.

Tell us what you want to see next in 2026.
— Creators (@XCreators) January 16, 2026

Creator Economy and Platform Challenges

It also aligns with Musk’s earlier promise to significantly boost creator payouts to compete with YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google. Musk has been vocal about X’s potential to become the go-to platform for all kinds of creators.

The news arrives amid the rapid expansion of the creator economy, with platforms like Instagram and YouTube playing a pivotal role.

In early January, RecurPost reported that X is seeing declines in its user base, revenue, app downloads and ad sales.

According to RecurPost, the most prominent activity on X is shown in the chart below.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock:

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Mentioned In This Article