Michelle, I so deeply appreciate and relate to your newspaper ethics (I was at the Seattle Times in the early '00s). I have a profound respect for the values of the newsroom, and the way that journalism with integrity is a pivotal aspect of American democracy.

That said, Medium isn't a newspaper. It's a publishing platform, which is a completely different beast. Again, I say this from a place of someone who deeply values newsroom ethics! I'm just also aware that the vast majority of writers on Medium aren't reporters or journalists. We aren't a newspaper, so that makes sense.

Each publisher on Medium brings their own motivations and values to their work, and one of my goals with the Boost Nomination Pilot program is to understand all the different motivations folks bring to the table, so that I can create a program with checks and balances to compensate for some of the more self-serving motivations.

So I'm with you: some folks bring very self-serving motivations to the table. It's disappointing, but also predictable and expected. It's part of the ongoing process of learning how to make Medium better for as many humans as we can. Thanks for being part of the process and sharing your thoughts!