Social network X announced on Monday the rollout of a “Paid Partnership” label for creators to mark their posts as advertisements. This feature aims to boost creators’ authenticity by informing fans when a recommendation is a paid sponsorship, aligning with regulations that require ad labeling on social media.
Similar tags have long been present on platforms like Instagram, following a 2017 U.S. Federal Trade Commission warning to influencers to disclose sponsored posts “clearly and conspicuously.” Last year, Instagram expanded its Partnership Ads, allowing creators to earn from testimonials shared in comments on brand posts.
On X, creators previously relied on hashtags like #paidpartnership and #ad to indicate sponsorship.
Now, creators can toggle a “content disclose” setting to add a Paid Partnership label below their post. The label can be added post-publishing if initially omitted. Nikitia Bier, X’s head of product, stated this feature allows creators to maintain transparency with followers and meet federal guidelines.
Bier noted in an X post announcing this update, “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.”
X has been working to attract creators for some time, offering engagement-based payouts, ad-revenue sharing, and subscriptions. However, many creators prefer using platforms like Instagram and YouTube, known for reaching wider audiences.
With Paid Partnership labels, creators can avoid cluttering posts with hashtags, which have become obsolete. (Instagram’s X competitor Threads removed the hash symbol entirely.)
X recently changed rules to improve content authenticity. Its API no longer supports programmatic replies unless the original author included an @mention or quote. This reduces LLM-generated spam on X, preventing brands from using AI replies to deceptively support ads and sponsored content.