But in this instance you were never paid…. They put a theoretical amount into a statement for you - then amended it. It would only be stealing if you’d been given the money and then had it removed - but as the money never hit your account, and the contract doesn’t stipulate pay per hour, they’re likely to circumvent the Labor laws. I’m not going to morally defend their positioning because it’s all flavours of twat-like - but I’d take legal advice ahead of any action.

They have indeed overshot their monetary load. Their model was unsustainable but they needed enough writers to get some market share. That money is gone - and now they’re tightening their purse strings. I suspect, given the slew of articles coming out about both them and vocal, they’ve been hit by investment withdrawal and perhaps even some Russian money. Who knows?

Either way, I’d stick with Medium. The algorithm isn’t always upfront but it does feel mostly fair.