An alarming pattern of underpayment, algorithm manipulation, and quiet suppression of content performance has emerged at Opera News Kenya, where a large number of young digital content creators are reportedly being subjected to an exploitative pay structure that has left many disillusioned and financially strained.
The platform, which once positioned itself as a viable digital media space offering decent income opportunities to writers and creators, is now facing growing internal backlash over what insiders are calling a “deliberate and calculated erosion” of fair compensation.
At the core of the complaints is a sharp, unexplained drop in payment rates.
Writers who were once able to make a decent living from their contributions to the platform have seen their earnings dramatically reduced, following an unexplained revision to the payment structure.
What was previously considered a sustainable income stream has now become erratic and insufficient, leaving many creators unable to meet even their basic financial needs.
According to sources familiar with the situation, this abrupt change has severely destabilized the livelihoods of numerous writers, with most reporting a sharp decline in income irrespective of the time, effort, or quality of work they continue to produce.
What once seemed like a promising opportunity for growth and independence has, for many, turned into a disheartening grind with diminishing returns.
Writers are also alleging that Opera News Kenya has quietly tampered with the backend system that tracks article performance, in what appears to be a coordinated effort to conceal true click counts and suppress payouts.
According to multiple sources, articles that would previously rack up over 200,000 views are now mysteriously capped at or below 30,000 clicks.
Some have observed that even when a story gains traction and goes viral, the numbers stagnate or disappear entirely, limiting not only visibility but also earnings.
It is also claimed that the system now deliberately reduces reported clicks by as much as 50%, making it nearly impossible for creators to verify the true impact of their content.
The result is an increasingly demoralized pool of writers, many of whom feel trapped in a platform that continues to profit off their work while systematically devaluing it.
With mounting evidence of concealed metrics, sudden payout downgrades, and the absence of transparent communication, creators are calling for accountability, fairness, and protection from what they see as a growing culture of digital exploitation in Kenya’s online content space.
“Hello Nyakundi. Kindly HIDE ID. Please air this for the sake of hundreds of writers being exploited. There is serious exploitation of young promising content creators and writers working for Opera News Kenya. The company is underpaying creators: without explanation, the company slashed payments to authors from KES 21 per 1,000 clicks to a mere KES 10 per 1,000 clicks – imagine. Creators used to earn as much as 40k+ per month; with the introduction of the new payment system, no writer is making above 20K. They have made sure that every writer gets paid between KES 500 to 15K a month. Most writers are now complaining about an emerging trend where the true clicks that an article garners are hidden from the author by the company, making payment computation difficult. Initially, articles would get as much as 200k+ clicks, but nowadays, the company has corrupted the click algorithm to make sure that no article surpasses 30K clicks. Even if your article performs well, clicks that accumulate past 30K are truncated and you are paid less money. Writers have also discovered that the company is intentionally reducing average clicks garnered by an article by 50%. If your article got 10K clicks, the system shows 5K on the writer interface. Writers are CRYING. HIDE ID please, air this for the sake of hundreds of writers being exploited There is serious exploitation of young promising content creators and writers working for Opera News Kenya. The company is underpaying creators: without explanation, the company slashed payments to authors from KES 21 per 1,000 clicks to a mere KES 10 per 1,000 clicks – imagine. Creators used to earn as much as 40k+ per month; with the introduction of the new payment system, no writer is making above 20K. They have made sure that every writer gets paid between KES 500 to 15K a month. Most writers are now complaining about an emerging trend where the true clicks that an article garners are hidden from the author by the company, making payment computation difficult. Initially, articles would get as much as 200k+ clicks, but nowadays, the company has corrupted the click algorithm to make sure that no article surpasses 30K clicks. Even if your article performs well, clicks that accumulate past 30K are truncated and you are paid less money. Writers have also discovered that the company is intentionally reducing average clicks garnered by an article by 50%. If your article got 10K clicks, the system shows 5K on the writer interface. Writers are CRYING.”
