The Writing Biz
How to Report Suspected Fraudulent Activity to Medium
And what kinds of content to report… take back your power 🏋️♂️
I’ve recently had several interesting discussions with fellow writers here at Medium. Many have expressed concerns over the fraudulent accounts that have been popping up the last few weeks.
You may have also seen several communications from Medium, wherein they’ve reported having identified “organized fraudulent activity” targeted toward our content via “systematic bulk engagement.”
An email received just yesterday reports that writers will be reimbursed for funds that were diverted because of this fraudulent activity. Hopefully this will appear in our earnings soon. Yeah!
From the email:
“Our writers are the backbone of this platform, and protecting Partner Program writer earnings from fraud is our top priority.”
While this is great news, I suppose what it really does is serve as a warning. Fraudulent accounts are nothing new. I’ve seen many come and go.
And going forward, there will be more people who come here to Medium and try to game the system. It’s just the way of the world unfortunately. Those who work hard to achieve something will always be met by people who will try and cheat their way to success.
And yes, it gets my blood boiling as well!
So many people the last few weeks have expressed their concern over a drop in earnings, as well as a swell in what they see as spammy and perhaps fraudulent activity.
As both a fellow writer and a publication editor, this truly has me concerned. I want everyone here at Medium, all the genuine writers that is, to be happy little peaches writing impactfully about the things they care most about.
That is what Medium is here for, in my opinion.
What to do? 🤷♀️
So, I thought I would pass on the same advice I’ve passed on to several fellow writers now: report their a$$es and then ignore them or block them!
Before walking you through how to do that, it’s important as well not to abuse the reporting system. Do not report someone simply because you do not like them or what they write.
Yes, I do realize this can be an attractive option when you really do not like someone. I fully get that. But, in reporting an account, that person must also be engaging in activity that is against Medium rules.
Otherwise, you will be wasting the precious time of our dear Medium Team.
Also, just because you may have a strong feeling that an account may be engaging in fraudulent behavior, I do believe it’s important to report it and then let Medium “pest control” handle it.
While it’s always tempting to take the law into your own hands, it’s really better to let the techie experts deal with it. I do believe they have the best bug spray.
Not to say that you still aren’t fully justified in bitching about it. I understand the need to vent when people are trying to steal what you are rightfully attempting to earn. Bunch of %@$#*?!s.
How to report suspicious behavior?
Luckily Medium makes it a quite simple feat to accomplish. Here are three ways:
- On any story you can click on the three dots and choose report.
- Use the ‘Submit a request’ feature located in the top right corner of the Medium Help Page.
- You can email [email protected], making sure to provide all relevant details including URLs and, if needed, screenshots.
Consult this link for full instructions: Report posts, lists, and users — Medium Help Center
So, what kind of behavior should I report? 🤔
All of us should be familiar with the information contained on the Medium Help Center home page. In particular, we should all have a working familiarity with Medium Rules.
Some examples of rule violations include:
- Harassment
- Content that is full of spam or comments that seem spammy
- Duplicate or overly repetitive content and/or plagiarism to include scraping
- Phishing schemes
- Abusing the tagging system by overly tagging people (I know, a lot of people are still doing this. I’m formerly guilty but have been redeemed)
- Third party content, sponsored content and/or affiliate links that aren’t being disclosed as such (I think this happens much more than is being reported)
Again, read Medium Rules to see the full list.
Suspected AI writing?
Here’s an interesting one… what if you suspect that an article was written with the use of AI? After all, Medium had previously advised us that AI use should be disclosed in the article.
Specifically, using AI, in my opinion, should be considered a violation of these rules:
- Scraping and reposting content from other sources for the primary purpose of generating revenue or other personal gains
- Copyright and trademark infringement
- Using deception to generate revenue or traffic
After all, where the content originated from in the first place is always suspect…. most likely from all of us and the countless other writers out here working hard to churn out writing… only to have people copy it, place it in a blender and then hit paste.
I mean, isn’t that AI in a nutshell?
Going forward, I do believe I will be reporting more of these accounts myself, but again, I would caution people not to abuse the system. Remember what happened to the boy who cried wolf?
Adding to the problem though, the AI people are getting craftier by adding a few of their own sentences into the mix. It’s becoming quite the murky mixed-up problem. However, I believe that even AI-assisted writing such as this should still be marked as such.
Most of the time it’s easy to spot, considering a change in writing style is usually noticeable.
I appreciated this guidance from fellow Globetrotter Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur on ways to spot AI writing: “Did an AI Write that Medium.com Article?”
What about honest engagement?
I know a lot of people are worried about engagement now and not wanting to be identified as a spammer or fraudster. I understand the concerns, but also feel that most of us do not have anything to worry about.
Many of us are very supportive of one another. If someone leaves me a comment, I’m always compelled to go and see what they are up to, read their work and most of the time leave comments if I like their work.
We often refer to this as reciprocal engagement and it’s one of my favorite aspects of Medium. To me, it’s all about boosting the community factor.
In my opinion, this it still ok as long as people aren’t going way overboard with it. What Medium is looking for here are obvious violations, like leaving a lot of comments and claps without reading.
I feel like I’m a fairly heavy reader myself although even on a heavy reading day I have my limits. Someone who leaves 100 comments a day on stories is probably just trying to game the system.
Also, be careful about leaving comments and engaging with content that seems to violate Medium rules. Do not give them any steam as you are only adding to the problem and providing them with fuel to keep going.
Closing thoughts
I love Medium, but I also feel like we all have a responsibility to help make this platform great. While I do believe Tony and the rest of the Medium crew have our best interests at heart, I also believe it’s up to all of us to aid them along.
So, what do you think? Anything you would add here?
And I do hope things improve soon in this regard for all of us!
As always, I welcome comments, questions and feedback.