Chaya Raichik, creator of Libs Of TikTok, decided to check which words are demonetized on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). This information is useful for creators who get paid on Twitter. The list is currently a mystery, and users are at risk of losing their income.
Raichik conducted these experiments by posting different words and seeing if ads appeared. She has discovered words that advertisers would demonetize in modern times, but none should.
The list includes “drag queen”, “porn”, “groomer”, and “LGBTQ”. Raichek discovered that the words “police”, “ugly”, and even “amen” have been demonetized.
BREAKING: Here is a full list of words I have confirmed through my research that will demonetize you:
1. Dr*g qu**n
2. P**n
3. Gr**m*er
4. In*0c**ce/in*0ce*t
5. Tr*ns
6. L*B*Q
7. P0I*ce
8. N*n-bl**ry
9. Ug*y
10. Am*nPlease share! will continue updating as I discover more!
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) September 28, 2023
Raichik found out that posting drag queen photos was enough to demonetize.
Testing… pic.twitter.com/65VIOWDLos
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) September 28, 2023
Elon Musk, the CEO of X, brought up Raichik’s findings in a discussion about antisemitism with Ben Shapiro and Daily Wire. He made it clear that “the list needed to be trimmed.”
Musk stated that none of the demonetizations that were made recently were done maliciously by him or any of his staff. He said it was more due to the incompetence of the previous owners, which they are still trying to fix. Musk did add, however, that advertisers can be very hesitant and scared away from platforms, which is likely why so many words are in place for demonetization.
HOLY SH*T! Elon name dropped me in his Twitter Space and said he saw my list of demonetized words that I reported on. Promises to fix it.
“This list needs to be trimmed” – @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/Ap66TQCmMp
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) September 28, 2023
Musk is untangling what he calls the Gordian Knot of codes from previous owners within X. There are new discoveries every day and it will take some time to unravel a decade of code.
It doesn’t help, however, that X CEO Linda Yaccarino promised to limit access for people whose speech was “lawful but terrible.” The meaning of this vague phrase is still not clear, nor is it known who decides what constitutes “awful.” This does show that Musk and X still want to be friendly with advertisers. That could mean constant changes in what words and phrases are demonetizable or blacklist-worthy.
Sadly, Musk and X will remain at the mercy and whim of advertisers until a breakthrough idea frees them from their dependence on them. This trend of demonetizing the words will continue, and the list of those who are affected will grow.
I say “quietly”, because to announce them would probably set off their own firestorms. Imagine Musk saying that the word “amen’ is no longer monetizable.
Musk’s team should still go through the list to delete words that are on advertisers’ bad side. This would instill confidence in users and reinforce the notion that Musk is better than other platforms.
