I both agree and disagree. It’s true that anyone can publish what they wish, and it doesn’t have to be a quality piece. But I believe that IF the platform ends up making money off the author’s work, while the author themselves doesn’t get paid much — such model constitutes unfair pay and exploitation.

We already have a metric of quality: curation. I know that some writers don’t agree with the curating methods; however, curators DO end up picking quite a lot quality articles. And authors get more exposure thanks to that; therefore, they earn a higher income.

As for those who write mediocre content and get a lot of following thanks to the volume — well, what can you do about it? Medium is a business, and just like many other businesses, they pay those who attract attention. The same way, more people might read my silly limericks about Trump instead of reading Shakespeare.