Medium used to be brilliant – a proper treasure trove of diverse content on every subject you could imagine. Now? The algorithm’s turned it into a one-note echo chamber where a single click defines your entire identity. While the platform’s trying to fix the spam problem, they’re mostly making it worse for everyone. Here’s what’s actually happening behind the scenes.
The Link Farm Takeover
The platform called Medium is a funny old place. It used to be a source of great content, covering all kinds of subjects, and deep down there’s still thousands of great articles about every imaginable subject. But something’s gone seriously wrong with how it surfaces content.
Because of algorithms, and the fact that everybody and their dog has jumped on Medium, turning it into their own personal link farm, where they can post their spam on an hourly basis, full of links to every one of their social media accounts, profiles, and obviously their courses and their websites, the noise has become relentless.
The quality content is still there. There are pockets of brilliant niche writing, proper expertise on subjects that matter. But you’ve got to actively hunt for it because the algorithm won’t show you.
When One Click Defines Your Entire Identity
Here’s where it gets ridiculous. Look at one article about writing, and suddenly the algorithm thinks all you want to know about is writing. And everybody’s writing about writing. The amount of people on Medium who now write about writing, write about AI, and write about how much they earn (or don’t), and post about how you can make money on Medium – because they don’t, but they know how to, apparently.
Getting out of the algorithm trap is something you just don’t do. Whether it’s glancing at a product on Amazon, so Google serves up every advert related to something you briefly looked at. And it’s the same with Medium. Look at a few articles about writing or AI, and suddenly that’s all you ever see.
Because the algorithm thinks, “Oh, this person’s not interested in wildlife anymore, this person’s not interested in articles about business anymore, they’re only interested in articles about writing and AI.”
No! I was just curious.
The algorithm behaves like social media feeds now – chasing recency and engagement rather than quality or relevance. It’s reduced everyone to a one-dimensional caricature of their last bloody click.
Life Isn’t Algorithmic
Just because I bought one book on AI doesn’t mean I’m not still interested in mental health and self-help. Life isn’t algorithmic. We have bookshelves full of all kinds of subjects. Just because today I’m reading a book about copywriting doesn’t make all those other books on my bookshelf irrelevant.
Just because I looked at one social media post about wolves in Alaska doesn’t mean I’m no longer interested in bears and foxes and other wildlife. And just because I read an article about writing doesn’t mean I’m no longer interested in everything else.
We’re multifaceted people with varied interests. The algorithm? It’s got the sophistication of a goldfish with a notepad, and it’s flattening us all into engagement-optimised caricatures.
Medium’s Clumsy Attempts to Fix Things
To be fair to Medium, they’ve noticed the problem. They’re now actively trying to limit or demonetise meta content about Medium itself and all those “how to make money on Medium” posts. They’ve introduced daily publishing limits to stop people flooding the platform with 15 stories a day.
But here’s the thing – these fixes are punishing genuine writers too. The algorithm changes that were supposed to improve things have tanked people’s views and earnings. Writers who were making decent money saw their income drop to pennies overnight after “algorithm improvements” nobody asked for.
There’s zero transparency about how stories are ranked or paid. The platform experiments constantly, leaving writers in the dark about what actually works. And when people complain, Medium blames “mythical bad actors” and spam, then changes the rules in ways that hurt everyone.
They’ve tried adding incentives for external traffic and tweaking the Partner Programme. But these feel like plasters on a broken leg when the fundamental problem is the algorithm treats Medium like TikTok instead of a library.
The AI Slop Problem
And now we’ve got AI-generated articles flooding the platform. Synthetic junk drowning real writing. It’s the same problem hitting the entire web, but Medium’s algorithm can’t seem to tell the difference between thoughtful human writing and AI slop churned out in bulk.
Some of these AI-generated pieces are getting boosted while actual expertise gets buried. The algorithm rewards frequent posting and engagement, which is exactly what automated content farms excel at.
The Growing Pushback
This is why more writers are saying sod it and going back to their own blogs. Own your platform, own your content, own your audience. No algorithm deciding what people see. No mysterious rule changes tanking your income overnight.
Medium had promise. It still has moments of brilliance when you find genuinely good writers in specific niches. Some people are still making decent money and getting good reach, particularly if they’ve built an audience and get regular boosts.
But the path of least resistance for attention is exactly the spam and clickbait everyone’s complaining about. The algorithm rewards the wrong behaviour, and Medium’s attempts to fix it are making things worse for everyone else.
The Current Reality
So yeah, Medium’s not what it used to be. Too many people have turned it into their own personal echo chambers and link farms. Spam is rife, clickbait is rife, AI-generated content is everywhere, and everyone’s an expert on writing.
The irony? Most of these “writing experts” wouldn’t know a decent turn of phrase if it smacked them in the face. They’re regurgitating the same tired advice, wrapped up in manufactured success stories that wouldn’t fool a primary school teacher.
The algorithm has reduced a platform that could have been a proper digital library into just another engagement-driven feed. One that thinks you’re only interested in whatever you clicked on five minutes ago.
And that’s the real shame of it.
FAQs about AI Slop on Medium
Why has Medium become so spammy?
The platform’s algorithm rewards frequent posting and engagement, which attracts people gaming the system with bulk content. Medium’s trying to fix this with publishing limits and demonetising meta content, but these changes often hurt genuine writers too.
Can you still find good content on Medium?
Absolutely. There’s still brilliant writing on Medium in specific niches, and some writers still make decent money and get good reach. The problem is the algorithm buries quality content under clickbait and treats Medium like social media instead of a library.
How does Medium’s algorithm actually work?
Medium’s algorithm tracks your reading habits and serves up similar content based on recency and engagement. Read one article about AI, and your entire feed becomes AI-focused. There’s zero transparency about how stories are ranked or paid, which frustrates writers.
Why are there so many articles about writing on Medium?
Writing about writing is self-referential and easy, plus the “how I made money on Medium” genre exploded. Medium’s now actively trying to limit this meta content, which actually validates the criticism while showing they’re attempting to steer away from it.
Is Medium worth using in 2026?
That depends on what you want. If you’re reading, you’ll need patience to filter the noise. If you’re writing, know that algorithm changes tank earnings unpredictably and AI-generated content floods the platform. Many writers are returning to their own blogs for more control.
What’s Medium doing about the spam problem?
Medium’s introduced daily publishing limits, demonetised meta content about the platform itself, and tweaked the Partner Programme with incentives for external traffic. But these fixes are clumsy, often punishing genuine writers while the fundamental algorithm problems remain.