A bizarre trend of AI-generated "melodramas" is flooding X (formerly Twitter), with creators fabricating tales of redemption and earning significant cash through the platform's revenue-sharing program. While X aims to reward quality content, its system is being exploited by these easily produced, engagement-driven narratives.
These stories often start with dramatic, first-person accounts designed to hook readers, promising tales of injustice and triumphant comebacks. For instance, one viral thread began with a woman on trial for theft, only for her son to reveal the true culprit in court. However, the author behind this particular story is a 21-year-old stock trader from Nigeria who uses AI to generate these narratives, earning money from X.
X's Creative Revenue Sharing program, designed to incentivize creators, requires users to be Premium subscribers with a minimum follower count and recent impressions. While intended for high-quality content, the program is susceptible to exploitation. Creators use tactics like "rage baiting" and AI-generated content to maximize engagement and payouts. X has even taken legal action against some creators for allegedly defrauding the program with fake AI content and bot-driven comments.
The AI-generated stories, often presented as personal experiences, are typically manipulative and lack authenticity. Experts describe their structure as formulaic: a setup involving an innocent party facing adversity, followed by a dramatic redemption where the antagonist is shamed. These narratives, whether about workplace drama, family disputes, or simple seating disagreements on public transport, consistently garner hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of views.
The popularity of these stories highlights a human desire for fairness and retribution, providing a dopamine hit as justice is served, even in fictional scenarios. Creating these "mini-melodramas" is surprisingly simple, with creators using well-known tropes and AI prompts to generate engaging content with minimal effort. One creator, known as BIGBEN, admitted to using AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT to write his stories, which can earn him between $500 and $700 bi-weekly through the revenue-sharing program, with some reportedly earning thousands.
While these AI-generated redemption tales might seem relatively harmless compared to rage bait, misinformation, or explicit content, their proliferation raises concerns. The fabricated nature of these stories, designed solely for clicks and engagement, leaves a hollow feeling, foreshadowing a potentially more common experience as AI writing becomes more widespread on social media platforms.
