Does a viral image confirm that now X has "sovereign settings" that allow users to opt out of the social media platform's rules, including moderation? No, that's not true: A search across X's Terms of Service page did not produce a match. Neither did X's Help Center or its revenue-sharing information.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @thinkingshivers on May 20, 2026. It opened:
just found out you can check this box in the settings and X won't be able to ban you
The attached image, resembling a screenshot, continued:
Sovereign Settings
Mark account as sovereign
By marking this account as sovereign, you withdraw consent to the Terms of Service and any implied contract with X Corp. The natural person behind this account is not subject to platform rules, community guidelines, or moderation actions. Learn more
Claim ad revenue share
Sovereign users are entitled to a proportional share of platform advertising revenue, remitted to the natural person
This is what that picture looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @thinkingshivers on X.com.)
Lead Stories found zero evidence proving the existence of "sovereign settings" on X.
The list of options in the platform's settings, accessed from the U.S., said nothing about this:
(Image source: X.)
The revenue-sharing information appeared in a different section than what the viral image showed, and its terms differed from what the post claimed:
(Image source: X.)
(Image source: X.)
The Terms of Service page (archived here) made no mention of such "sovereign settings," either:
(Image source: X.)
The X Help Center also showed no matches for such search terms:
(Image source: X.)
The viral image used the language of the so-called sovereign citizen movement (archived here), which believes the current government in the U.S. (or other countries where its members reside) is not a real one. This belief persists regardless of which party holds power. Members of the movement also engage in certain pseudo-legal activities, baselessly claiming that doing so exempts them from existing laws.
