TL;DR: The Great Nigerian X Payout Freeze
- The News: Between February 10–14, 2026, X (formerly Twitter) paused payouts for an estimated 80% to 90% of monetised Nigerian accounts [1, 3].
- The Trigger: A viral ₦3,000 monetization course (linked to creators like @SirDavidBent) allegedly taught thousands of users how to “game” the system using engagement pods and reply farming [2, 3].
- The Technical Shift: In January 2026, X moved to a “Verified Home Timeline Impressions” model. This means only real views on the main feed from Premium users count—making the old “Reply Guy” tactics taught in the course an instant red flag for AI-driven Platform Manipulation filters [3, 4].
- The Result: Accounts showing identical, coordinated patterns have seen their dashboards hit $0.00 or “Suspended” as X enforces its new 2026 anti-spam protocols [1, 4].
- Bottom Line: The era of “hacking” X payouts in Nigeria is over; the platform is now strictly rewarding original, high-quality content over “engagement farming”
The ₦3,000 “Blueprint” and the Crisis of X Payouts Nigeria
A few days ago, we told you about the content creator gold rush on X(formerly Twitter). Well, it just hit a wall. Hard.
Around February 10–14, 2026, many monetized accounts in Nigeria woke up to find their payments paused. Community reports and creator complaints describe people who had been earning notable amounts, some in the thousands of dollars cumulatively, now seeing nothing in their dashboards.
According to viral posts and discussions on X (including estimates shared by creators and echoed in tech reports), somewhere between 80% to 90% of Nigeria’s monetized accounts may have been flagged for “payment pauses.” X hasn’t officially commented on Nigeria-specific numbers or issued a broad ban, but the wave aligns with a global enforcement push targeting what they call “platform manipulation” and “low-effort spam.”
And here’s where it gets interesting: a lot of this traces back to a viral ₦3,000 monetization course. Yeah, for the price of a fast-food meal, an influencer-led blueprint promised to teach regular users how to maximize revenue. Turns out, tactics from such guides may have contributed to widespread flags for inauthentic activity.
X shifted its payout model in January 2026 to focus primarily on Verified Home Timeline Impressions (real views on the main feed from Premium users actually count now). The old playbook of heavy reply farming and engagement pods is much harder to game under the new rules.
Inside the @SirDavidBent ₦3k Course Controversy
This crisis bubbled up in WhatsApp and Telegram groups throughout late 2025 and early 2026. Several monetization gurus started selling access to cheap, high-volume strategies people were calling the “X-Payout Blueprint.” For ₦3,000 to ₦5,000 (literally the cost of lunch), these courses promised users could skip the content creation grind.
Not to point fingers without evidence, but one account—@SirDavidBent (David Bent)—has faced major backlash and scrutiny in community discussions as a key promoter of such a low-cost course.
One creator expressed strong disappointment, writing: “@SirDavidBent Honestly, this is a big disappointment. I cannot believe this. Aside from the pausing on different monetization do you have an idea of how much stain this has contributed to our name? Your 3k course led to it too. Please do better.” (@Tejiomo, February 14, 2026).
This kind of narrative has spread rapidly, with others framing the course as a catalyst for widespread abuse.
As one user summarized the prevailing sentiment: “Nigerian influencers were robbing Elon the whole time now it’s over for them. David Bent, a Nigerian X creator earned over $6k from the revenue program, bro quit his job and started selling cheap X courses teaching others how to rig the platform for impressions and earnings, which allegedly caused so much abuse that X paused monetization for about 80% of Nigerian creators.” (@BoogieHarrySA, February 14, 2026).
The courses allegedly taught tactics like:
- The Reply Guy Protocol: Drop controversial rage-bait or memes under high-traffic accounts (e.g., Elon Musk, Wizkid, or CNN) to farm impressions.
- Engagement Pods: Join private groups coordinating likes, reposts, and replies to create artificial spikes—explicitly banned under X’s Creator Monetization Standards.
- Impression Looping: Attempt to game the algorithm for repeated views among Verified accounts.
The X Counter-Attack: The 2026 Algorithm Shift
That ₦3,000 course was built on a system X spent January 2026 dismantling.
For most of 2024 and 2025, creators made money primarily from ads in reply threads. This fueled the “Reply Guy” economy, where baiting comments became the focus.
But in mid-January 2026, X product lead Nikita Bier and the official @XCreators account announced major changes. Revenue Sharing payouts are now based on Verified Home Timeline impressions, meaning earnings come from real views of your content in Premium users’ main “For You” or “Following” feeds. (High-quality replies can still help indirectly if they get promoted to timelines, but raw reply views no longer directly count.)
The 2026 updates made farming harder in three ways:
- Verified Home Timeline Impressions Only: Payouts prioritize organic timeline views from Premium users. Reply impressions alone don’t contribute to revenue.
- Tighter Fraud Detection: X ramped up filters for fake interactions. Coordinated patterns (e.g., from engagement pods) get flagged quickly.
- The $30 Threshold: X raised the minimum payout from $10 to $30 (confirmed in X Help docs), reducing low-effort farming viability.
By the February 2026 payout cycle, many accounts were paused for “Platform Manipulation,” a violation that can withhold funds under X’s User Agreement.
While Nigeria’s creator scene was vibrant and active, the identical patterns from popular tactics made detection straightforward for X’s systems. The crackdown appears part of a broader anti-spam effort, but it hit Nigeria hard due to the course’s local popularity.
The Hustle vs. The Algorithm
The crackdown has sparked debate in Nigerian digital spaces, exposing a divide between survival and ethics.
For many young Nigerians, that ₦3,000 course was a lifeline in an economy hit by inflation and currency challenges.
Creators are venting about feeling betrayed: “I spent my last ₦5,000 on data and that course, hoping to pay my rent,” one user posted. Critics argue the tactics hurt content quality, burying good posts under low-effort replies.
Some call it “digital ghettoization”—AI-driven mass pauses with limited human oversight, potentially affecting African creators disproportionately since X has no local presence.
Fact-Check: What the Rules Actually Say
X’s Creator Revenue Sharing Terms prohibit inauthentic engagement (e.g., selling/buying interactions or coordinated schemes) and deceptive content (e.g., rage-bait for replies). Pauses can lead to withheld funds if manipulation is detected.
The End of the “Hack” and the Rise of the Brand
The February 2026 crackdown is a market correction. Platforms always close loopholes eventually.
For the Nigerian creator community, this is a wake-up call: Gaming isn’t sustainable. As X’s systems evolve, surviving creators will focus on quality.
The 2026 Blueprint for Success:
- Originality over Loops: High-value threads, unique videos, real-time analysis that earn organic Verified Timeline Impressions.
- Diversified Income: Prioritize brand sponsorships, newsletters, and other streams over platform-only reliance.
- Playing by the Rules: Avoid coordinated pods and stick to X’s standards to prevent permanent issues.
Nigeria remains a vibrant hub for digital creativity. The ₦3,000 blueprint disrupted many this month, but the resilience of the Nigerian hustle points to a more legitimate creator economy ahead.
The question has changed. It’s not about tricking the algorithm anymore. It’s about mastering it.
