Opera News Kenya is under fire over shocking claims of exploitation targeting young digital content creators who contribute to the platform.
What was once viewed as a growing opportunity for writers to earn decent money through digital media has now turned into a frustrating and financially draining experience for many.
A wave of complaints from multiple contributors has revealed a disturbing pattern of underpayment, algorithm tampering, and manipulation of article performance to suppress payouts.
At the center of this mess is a sharp and unexplained drop in payment rates. Writers who were previously earning respectable amounts have suddenly seen their income shrink without any formal explanation.
The once dependable platform has reportedly turned into a trap that keeps squeezing more out of writers while offering less in return.
Cyprian Is Nyakundi, who published a whistleblower report from an affected writer, highlighted just how deep the problem runs.
The writer, whose identity was withheld for safety, painted a grim picture of what creators are facing.
“There is serious exploitation of young promising content creators and writers working for Opera News Kenya,” the source said.
“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.”
According to the statement shared with Nyakundi, Opera News has ensured that most writers now fall within the KES 500 to 15,000 range, making it nearly impossible for anyone to rely on the platform for sustainable income.
Beyond pay cuts, there’s the issue of article performance manipulation. Writers are alleging that Opera News Kenya has tampered with the backend system that tracks views and engagement.
The whistleblower stated that what used to be 200,000+ views per article are now capped at 30,000, and even when an article goes viral, the clicks either stop increasing or disappear entirely.
Worse, some writers have found that the system now reduces their recorded views by as much as 50%. “If your article got 10K clicks, the system shows 5K on the writer interface,” the source explained.
This makes it almost impossible to verify real performance or calculate expected payment. Creators feel cornered and powerless, as the company continues to hide behind a system that offers no transparency and no room for questioning.
The result of all this has been a demoralized community of writers, some of whom are on the verge of quitting due to mental and financial stress.
Many say they entered the platform with hope and excitement, only to discover a rigged system built to take advantage of their talent.
There is growing anger, not just over the low pay, but also the deception involved in tracking and reporting performance. The click algorithm, once trusted as a fair measure of article success, is now seen as a tool for cheating writers.
While Opera News Kenya continues to expand its presence, the foundation is shaking under the weight of growing dissatisfaction from those who made it thrive in the first place.
This case has exposed the dark side of Kenya’s online content economy, where creators are often left without protection or bargaining power.
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