This month, FYIVT received an automated notice from Facebook warning that its ability to “earn money” on the platform may be limited. The reason? FYIVT has chosen not to participate in Facebook’s “Stars” program—a monetization feature that encourages content creators to engage their audience in exchange for digital tips.

No policies were violated. There was no misconduct. But FYIVT’s refusal to adopt the monetization tools apparently triggered Facebook’s system to flag the page as “noncompliant.” It’s not a ban—it’s a nudge. A subtle reminder that even silence can be interpreted as disobedience in the algorithmic age.

The message wasn’t a warning about misinformation, copyright violations, or abusive content. It was about noncompliance with monetization behavior. In other words: FYIVT wasn’t playing Facebook’s game.

This kind of digital arm-twisting is increasingly common. As major platforms blur the line between hosting and gatekeeping, creators, publishers, and independent voices are learning a hard truth: if you don’t own your platform, you’re always one algorithm update—or arbitrary policy shift—away from losing access to your audience.

Monetization as Control

Facebook’s Stars program may sound harmless on the surface. It’s framed as a way for audiences to support their favorite creators. But the strings are clear. In order to fully participate, pages must conform to Facebook’s Partner Monetization Policies, which include a vague blend of engagement metrics, community standards, and advertiser-safe behavior.

FYIVT never sought monetization from Facebook. The outlet operates independently, and its reporting—focused on Vermont politics, policy analysis, and investigative work—prioritizes substance over virality. The offer to monetize through “Stars” was ignored. That decision was enough to trigger Facebook’s automated restriction process.

No rules were broken. The outlet simply didn’t bend.

The Illusion of Platform Neutrality

What happened to FYIVT is part of a broader pattern. Major social media platforms no longer operate as neutral digital highways. They are curated ecosystems, rewarding compliant creators with visibility and reach, while marginalizing or flagging others who deviate from preferred behaviors.

This is not about censorship in the traditional sense. It’s about economic steering—pressuring content creators to shape their voice and output to suit the monetization model. And for those who don’t play along, the consequences come quietly: lower reach, throttled engagement, and limited tools.

Even newer platforms that claim to support “decentralization” or “free speech” often fall into similar traps. Federated networks like Mastodon, for instance, still depend on instance administrators to set tone and moderation policy. In practice, this has led to politically homogeneous spaces where dissenting voices are just as unwelcome as they are on more centralized platforms. The architecture may be different, but the gatekeeping persists.

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Sharecropping in the Digital Age

FYIVT’s experience highlights what some call digital sharecropping—when creators labor on land owned by others, building followings and producing content without owning the infrastructure. If the platform decides to evict them, there’s little recourse. Years of work can vanish with a single policy change, account lockout, or shadowban.

The solution is as old as the web itself: own your digital property.

FYIVT’s website, FYIVT.com, is the platform of record. Content originates there first. Social media is used as a distribution channel—not a foundation. That distinction matters. When Facebook, X, or other platforms become the center of a creator’s ecosystem, they gain outsized control over what gets seen, who gets paid, and which ideas survive.

Reclaiming the Web

As Windows 10 nears end-of-life and more users face forced upgrades or cloud-dependent services, the concept of digital sovereignty is becoming newly relevant. Whether it’s an operating system or a content platform, tools that are rented can be revoked. Independence means more than having your own opinion—it means owning the place where you express it.

For creators and small publishers, that means:

• Registering a custom domain and hosting original content there.
• Building email lists to bypass algorithmic suppression.
• Using open-source tools and local backups instead of cloud dependency.
• Treating social media as a road sign, not a destination.

Final Word

FYIVT’s refusal to “earn Stars” wasn’t a protest. It was a decision to maintain integrity—and ownership. The backlash from Facebook proves just how far platforms are willing to go to push creators into monetized compliance.

True freedom on the internet doesn’t come from terms of service or monetization checkmarks. It comes from planting a flag in ground you actually own.

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Dave Soulia | FYIVT

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