Tiffany Fong, a crypto influencer with a growing presence on X, is getting attention and scrutiny after revealing the massive amount she earned in a recent payout from Elon Musk’s creator program.
Fong shared a screenshot this weekend of her X payout: over $21,000 for the two weeks from Nov. 8 to Nov. 22.
“Oh my god, I love 𝕏 so much. I’m so grateful,” she wrote in the post.
Fong's rise on X has been marked by viral and polarizing content centered on conservative politics and the 2024 election.
She also repeatedly used an anti-gay slur, but that hasn’t seemed to slow the flow of cash.
One tweet, where she replied “f****t” to a caption contest hosted by the conservative meme account @DefiantLs, was flagged for potentially violating X’s rules against hateful conduct.
In another tweet sharing the platform’s decision on Nov. 23, she lamented that she couldn't freely use the slur on the platform.
She used uncensored versions of the slur in other posts.
On an alt account, Fong joked that having a premium account should allow her to use the slur.
She also repeatedly used a censored version of the phrase to mock progressive influencer Harry Sisson, who has been a punching bag for right-wing figures on the site.
In another post, she used the slur to refer to Jaguar's new marketing campaign.
Fong also repeatedly posted manipulated media on the site, like a fake chyron of Rachel Maddow's show, which can sometimes restrict creator payouts.
Fong’s political content that has gone viral includes a repost of an AI-generated video parodying the viral photo of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., and RFK Jr. on a private jet eating McDonald’s.
The video, depicting the figures pulling out guns and removing their shirts, garnered 71,000 likes and 10 million views.
Why are Elon Musk and Tiffany Fong all over the timeline?
On Nov. 22, she tweeted, “The number of friends & family I’ve cut off for voting for Kamala Harris is zero,” adding in the comments, “Even though she is a dumb bitch.”
Elon Musk retweeted the post, responding with “Same.”
That post was one of many reply guy moments for Musk.
When she shared a picture of her holding a handgun, Musk responded with a firearm emoji, which he recently proudly changed on X to be more realistic.
After Fong shared an old clip of Ellen DeGeneres introducing a group of children to Diddy, Musk replied with a “grimace” emoji.
Under a meme Fong posted on Nov. 24, Musk asked, “Did you make this meme? It’s good.”
Fong frequently praises Musk and the platform’s policies in her posts, a trend that has coincided with Musk’s increased engagement with her tweets since October.
On Nov. 21, she wrote, “No one is cooler than Elon Musk.”
The recent back-and-forth drove speculation that interacting with Musk helped drive her payouts higher.
“Payouts are so RIGGED,” wrote one critic.
“honestly convinced that X payouts are determined by two factors: • multiplier manually assigned to your account by Elon Musk himself • a D20,” tweeted X user @luciascarlet, referencing a twenty-sided die.
The frequent interaction became a meme itself, with users sharing stock images of characters who looked like the two, calling their posts a “marketing scheme.”
“Tiffany Fong and Elon Musk LOLing at how well their marketing campaign is doing on X.”
Fong, though, was making money before her interactions with Musk kicked into overdrive.
Previous earnings, according to her, include $16,727 for Oct. 25-Nov. 8 and $11,286 from Oct. 11-Oct. 25.
Fong initially rose to fame by breaking exclusive interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried during the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.
Her content now, focused on conservative memes, Bitcoin prices, and figures like Trump, seems perfectly engineered for Musk's new algorithm.
But people were nonetheless surprised at the amount Fong got, especially given that many of her posts are retweets and content she didn't originally create.
“You absolutely deserve every dollar, and I’m genuinely happy for you. BUT this doesn’t add up. My rev is in the three digits (!!!) despite my tweets going viral daily. Elon needs to make the algorithm public—this lack of transparency is only fueling division, which we don’t need.” said @goddeketal.
"This highlights everything wrong with X. 113K impressions for laughing emojis," wrote a user flagging the doctored meme of Maddow and noting it wasn't original content. "This is NOT original content that the experts promote. It's selective accounts being favored in the algorithm, regardless of their posts."
Many comments were speculative and misogynistic, alleging that Fong's payout stemmed from a physical relationship with Musk. But while Fong said she never met Musk in person, Musk replied to a post implicating the money stemmed from something untoward with a series of flattering, thirsty emoji.
Currently, payouts on X are only available to Premium users who paid for subscriptions on the platform. According to the platform rules, payouts are calculated based on engagement from Premium users with their content on X.
Despite criticism, Fong has become a case study for aspiring influencers.
A YouTube creator, Jacob Edmunds, credited her success to Musk’s visible support in a video, while influencer Heidi Briones attributed it to Fong being “hot, based, and funny.”
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