X adds ‘Paid Partnership’ labels so creators can ditch the hashtags

Source: TechCrunch

Introduction

Social network X announced a new “Paid Partnership” label that creators can apply to their posts to indicate they’re advertisements. The feature helps improve authenticity, letting fans know when a product recommendation is an original sentiment versus a paid sponsorship, and ensures compliance with regulations that require ads on social media to be clearly labeled.

Background

Similar tags have existed for years on other platforms, such as Instagram, after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission warned influencers in 2017 to “clearly and conspicuously disclose” sponsored content. Instagram later expanded its Partnership Ads to let creators get paid for written testimonials shared as comments on a brand’s posts.

On X, creators previously had no built‑in way to label posts and resorted to hashtags like #paidpartnership and #ad.

New Paid Partnership Labels

• Creators can toggle a new “content disclose” setting when composing a post.
• The Paid Partnership label appears directly below the post’s content.
• The label can be added retroactively if the creator forgets to apply it initially.

According to X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, the feature lets creators be transparent with their followers while complying with federal regulations.

“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.” — Nikita Bier, March 1 2026
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Impact on Creators

The label provides a cleaner alternative to hashtag disclosures, which have become somewhat passé. By offering a native solution, X makes it easier for creators to follow the rules without cluttering their posts.

X’s Ongoing Efforts for Creators

X has been courting the creator class for some time, offering:

• Payouts for viral content
• Ad‑revenue sharing programs
• Creator subscriptions

Despite these initiatives, X has struggled to attract creators who often prefer platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

Recent Platform Changes

Last week X announced that its API can no longer be used for programmatic replies unless the original author mentioned the replying user or quoted them. This change aims to reduce LLM‑generated spam and prevent shady brands from using AI‑generated replies to masquerade as genuine customer feedback on sponsored content.