X Users Say Reposts Are Winning Over Original Content

Smaller creators feel the algorithm is rewarding copies, not the people who created the content.

X users are increasingly frustrated with the platform’s algorithm. Their biggest complaint is simple. Original posts get ignored, while reposts and copied content get all the attention.

Several photographers and smaller creators have shared similar stories. They post their own images and get almost no likes, views, or replies. Then someone else reposts similar content, often without credit, and the post suddenly reaches thousands or even millions of people.

The problem appears to be linked to X’s For You feed.

X has said its Phoenix model looks at signals such as reposts, shares, and engagement to decide what content to recommend. In theory, this should help the best content spread faster. But creators argue that the system may be giving too much power to accounts that already have large audiences.

This creates a strange situation. A smaller creator can make the original post, but a bigger account can share or copy the idea and get most of the attention.

Some users also wonder whether bots are making the problem worse. Reposts are easy to automate, and copied content…