Meta has quietly ended its bonus program that paid creators to post on Threads, the company’s social media platform competing with X (formerly Twitter).
The program, which offered some creators monthly bonuses ranging from 500to500to5,000, was discontinued around the end of April, according to creators who were previously part of the initiative. This marks roughly one year after Meta first began paying users for popular posts on the platform.
Meta has not officially commented on why it stopped the payments. An Instagram support page that once detailed the creator incentives no longer mentions Threads at all. Creators who spoke about the program said they received bonuses based on specific metrics including post counts and views.
The end of the bonus program raises questions about Meta’s strategy for attracting and retaining creators on Threads. While the company continues efforts to bring brands and notable figures to the platform, it has yet to clearly explain what incentives it can offer creators in return for their participation.
Threads faces several challenges in supporting content creators compared to other platforms. The app generates minimal traffic to external websites, making it difficult for creators to monetize their presence. Building a following is also more challenging because Threads defaults to an algorithmic timeline featuring mainly recommended content rather than posts from accounts users follow.
This algorithmic approach means posts from unknown accounts can more easily go viral, but viral content rarely translates into significant follower growth for creators.
Meta has added some creator-friendly features, including the ability to add more links to profiles and more detailed analytics. The platform has also tested tools to help users find popular creators they previously followed on X.
Despite ending creator payments, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly expressed his belief that Threads could become the company’s next billion-user platform. However, achieving this goal may prove difficult without strong creator participation and engagement.
