# Medium Story Removed From Paywall: AI and Meta Content > Medium took your story off the paywall for AI-generated or meta content? See what Medium's pages say, what you can still do and what to avoid. - URL: https://www.awarexone.com/research/medium-story-removed-from-paywall-ai-generated-meta-content - Author: Md Shariar Shanaz Shuvon, Founder & CEO, AwareXone - Published: 2026-10-27 - Topics: Medium, Partner Program, Paywall - Related service: creator recovery help: https://www.awarexone.com/services/business-creator-recovery ## Short answer Medium's paywall policy says two kinds of story cannot sit behind the paywall: stories mainly about Medium or the Partner Program, and stories mostly generated by AI with little human editing. The pages we read describe no appeal for a single story, so check the policy, keep the story outside the paywall and avoid repeat violations. ## Summary - Medium's paywall policy says stories primarily about Medium itself, the Partner Program or platform mechanics are not eligible for the paywall. - The same policy says stories where the majority of the content comes from an AI writing tool, with little or no human editing, are not eligible. - Medium's pages say AI tools for outlining, spelling, grammar or fact checking are not covered, and you can write about Medium outside the paywall. - Medium's revocation page says removal from the Partner Program is permanent and there is no appeals process, so avoid repeating a violation. - A wrong step can cost you your Partner Program place, so know what you are doing before you start. Do not rush to paywall the story again. You opened your Medium story and the paywall is gone. Or you received a notice that the story was removed from paywall eligibility. You wrote about how Medium works, or you used an AI tool somewhere in the draft, and now you are not sure which rule you broke, or whether your Partner Program place is safe. This guide follows Medium's own help pages. It shows the two rules that Medium names for paywall eligibility, what its pages say about AI tools and disclosure, what the pages say and do not say about appeals, and how to avoid a repeat. We do not quote any earnings or payout figures here. We cannot promise that a story will go back behind the paywall, and the pages we read describe no outside service that can force Medium to change a decision. A wrong step can cost you your Partner Program place, so know what you are doing before you start. Last checked: 27 October 2026. ## What Does Medium Say Cannot Go Behind the Paywall? Medium's [Content eligible for the paywall policy](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/31090080813591-Content-eligible-for-the-paywall-policy) page says not all content is eligible to earn in the Medium Partner Program. It names the types of story that are not permitted behind the paywall, and says stories found in violation of the policy will be removed from paywall eligibility. It names two types. | Type of story | What Medium's page says | What the page does not say | | --- | --- | --- | | Meta content about Medium | Stories primarily focused on Medium itself, the Partner Program or the mechanics of the platform are not eligible. This includes writing strategies on Medium, earnings, distribution or other platform-specific topics | How much of a story must be about Medium before it counts as primarily focused | | Fully AI-generated writing | Stories where the majority of the content was generated by an AI writing tool, with little or no human editing, fact-checking or original contribution, are not eligible | How Medium measures the majority in a given story | | AI-assisted writing | Medium requires a story that incorporates AI assistance to be clearly labelled, but its FAQ says grammar or spell checkers, outline help and fact verification need no disclosure. Undisclosed AI-assisted text is restricted to distribution on the author's personal network | What counts as enough labelling in every case | ## What Counts as Meta Content About Medium? The paywall policy says meta content means stories primarily focused on Medium itself, the Partner Program or the mechanics of the platform. It lists examples: content about writing strategies on Medium, earnings, distribution or other platform-specific topics. So a story titled with a how-to on growing on Medium, or on what your Partner Program results looked like, fits the description. The page gives two further details. It says Medium-focused stories are set to network-only distribution by default, because they are not of broad general interest to the wider member audience. It also says that writing this type of content behind the paywall may limit your long-term reach, as readers outside the Medium ecosystem are unlikely to engage with it. The page does not tell you to stop writing about Medium. It says you are welcome to write about Medium, including strategies, opinions and critiques, outside the paywall. That is the clean fix for a story of this kind: keep the story, keep it free to read, and keep paywalled stories for topics of wider interest. ## What Counts as Fully AI-Generated Writing? The paywall policy says stories where the majority of the content has been generated by an AI writing tool, with little or no human editing, fact-checking or original contribution, are not eligible. It also says the policy does not apply to AI-assisted tools used for outlining, spell-checking, grammar or fact verification, only to content that is primarily AI-generated. Medium's [Artificial Intelligence (AI) content policy](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/22576852947223-Artificial-Intelligence-AI-content-policy) page repeats the point in its own words. It says Medium is for human storytelling, not AI-generated writing. It says AI-generated writing, whether disclosed or not, is not allowed to be paywalled as part of the Partner Program, and that accounts with fully generated AI writing behind the paywall may have those stories removed from the paywall, or have their Partner Program enrolment revoked. On disclosure, the page says you do not need to disclose AI assistance such as grammar or spell checkers, outline assistance or fact verification. It says you must disclose if you are using text or images generated by AI. For text, it suggests a simple sentence within the first two paragraphs, and for images, a note in the caption. It says undisclosed AI-generated writing is given Network Only distribution, which means the author's direct network of followers and subscribers only. On detection, the page says Medium uses a wide variety of tools and technologies to detect and identify AI writing and other AI content, combined with human review of any positive results. It does not give details of how a story is scored, so you cannot tell from outside why a story was picked. ## Is My Story Still Published? The paywall policy says violating stories are removed from paywall eligibility. It does not describe what happens to a story's visibility beyond that. The Partner Program page for removing a story from the paywall says that Partner Program writers can make any paywalled story freely accessible to all readers at any time, and that an active Partner Program member is needed to manage the settings. Medium's [Remove a story from the paywall](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018637634-Remove-a-story-from-the-paywall) page gives the steps. On the web, go to your story page, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and select Edit story. In edit mode, click the three-dot menu again, select Manage paywall setting, choose the option to make the story not eligible to earn and click Save. In the app, tap the three-dot menu, select Edit, tap Next, disable the Members only toggle and tap Publish. The page says the story will then be accessible to all readers. If the story was flagged, making it free to read yourself keeps it available to all readers while you decide what else to do. It is not an appeal, and the page does not describe it as one. ## Can I Appeal a Removal From the Paywall? None of the pages we read describe a way to appeal the removal of a single story from paywall eligibility. The paywall policy says only that violating stories are removed from eligibility. The Revocation page is firmer on the bigger step. Medium's [Revocation from the Medium Partner Program](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/22379888313751-Reasons-for-Revocation-from-the-Medium-Partner-Program) page says that failure to meet the standards may result in removal from the program, and that reasons for removal include paywalling AI-generated content in violation of the AI content policy. It then adds a note that removal from the Partner Program is permanent and that there is no appeals process. This is why the next step matters. A story removed from the paywall is one event. Putting more AI-generated writing behind the paywall is the step the pages link to removal from the Partner Program. The pages we read do not say the same about meta content. Do not re-paywall the flagged story, and check each new paywalled story before you publish it. ## Is This the Same as an Inactive Enrolment Status? No. Medium's [Medium Partner Program enrollment status](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/29975006166679-Medium-Partner-Program-enrollment-status) page describes a separate way for stories to leave the paywall. It says your status becomes inactive if you leave the Partner Program voluntarily, or if your payout settings are incomplete and your balance has reached the minimum, with both conditions continuing for the period the page sets. When inactive, it says your stories are removed from the paywall and become available to all readers. That is a payout setup problem, not a content problem. If your stories came off the paywall because of payout settings, read our guide on [a Medium Partner Program payout that has not arrived](https://www.awarexone.com/research/medium-partner-program-payout-not-received-stripe-threshold). We do not repeat the dates or amounts here, because Medium sets them and the page is the place to read them. ## A Checklist Before You Paywall the Next Story - Is the story mainly about Medium, the Partner Program, earnings, distribution or the platform's mechanics? If so, keep it outside the paywall. - Did you write and edit it yourself? The policy refers to little or no human editing, fact-checking or original contribution. - Did an AI tool create text or images? Disclose it, using a simple sentence within the first two paragraphs and a caption on images. - Are the AI tools only for outlining, spelling, grammar or fact checking? The pages say those do not need disclosure. - Have you checked for facts that cannot be supported? The AI policy says Medium does not allow easily disprovable AI-hallucinated stories, statistics or events. - Are you reusing someone else's work through an AI tool? The page says rephrasing existing content into a close derivative breaches its Plagiarism Guidelines. These points come from the pages above. They do not tell you how Medium will treat your particular story, and passing the checklist is not a promise that a story will stay behind the paywall. ## Watch for Fake Help A flagged story is a moment when people may approach you with offers. Someone may message you saying they work at Medium, or that they can restore the paywall or protect your Partner Program place for you. The pages we read describe no such route. Medium's pages say removal from the Partner Program has no appeals process, so anyone who promises to reverse it is not using a route Medium describes. Never share your Medium login, your email access or a sign-in code with anyone who offers help. Our guide on [spotting fake recovery services](https://www.awarexone.com/research/account-recovery-scams-how-to-spot-fake-recovery-services) lists the signs. ## What the Pages Do Not Say The pages we read do not say how Medium decides that a story is primarily about Medium or that it is mostly AI-generated. They do not describe an appeal for one story, and they do not say how long a decision stays in place. They do not say how a story can become eligible again. They do not say whether a first flag leads to a warning, and they do not say what Medium weighs in deciding on revocation. We do not know your outcome, and we will not guess. ## When It Is Safer to Get Expert Help Some people sort this out alone, and the official steps stay first. The risks are plain. The pages say removal from the Partner Program is permanent and has no appeals process, so a repeat violation is costly. A rushed message to Medium that makes a claim you cannot support can add to the problem. Putting the same story behind the paywall again would repeat the same violation, and the pages say AI-generated writing behind the paywall may lead to removal from the Partner Program. And people who offer to reverse a decision are a risk to expect after any removal. If you are unsure about any step, or your Medium writing matters to your income or your business, handing the case to an experienced team such as AwareXone is the safer choice. We can help you check your stories against Medium's pages, decide which should stay outside the paywall and keep a clear record. See our [creator recovery help](https://www.awarexone.com/services/business-creator-recovery) page, and use the Apply for Case Review button at the end of this guide. ## When a Case Review Makes Sense If several stories were removed, or your Partner Program status has changed, a review can help you decide what to do first. SocialSafe by AwareXone is a Malaysia-based service, independent of Medium, that helps you use the official routes. We never ask for your password or login codes, and we cannot change Medium's decisions. See how we work on our [trust page](https://www.awarexone.com/trust). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Why was my Medium story removed from the paywall? Medium's paywall policy names two reasons: the story is primarily about Medium or the Partner Program, or the majority of it was generated by an AI writing tool with little or no human editing. ### Can I still write about Medium? Yes. The paywall policy says you are welcome to write about Medium, including strategies, opinions and critiques, outside the paywall. ### Do I have to disclose AI spelling or grammar tools? No. Medium's AI policy says you do not need to disclose AI assistance such as grammar or spell checkers, outline assistance or fact verification. You must disclose text or images generated by AI. ### Can I appeal a story removed from the paywall? The pages we read describe no appeal for a single story. The revocation page says removal from the Partner Program is permanent and there is no appeals process. ### How do I make a flagged story free to read? Medium's page says to open the story, use the three-dot menu, choose Manage paywall setting and make the story not eligible to earn. In the app, you disable the Members only toggle. ### Is this the same as an inactive Partner Program status? No. An inactive status is about payout settings or leaving the program. A paywall removal for content is about what the story is. ## Official sources - [Official: Content eligible for the paywall policy - Medium Help Center (read 27 October 2026)](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/31090080813591-Content-eligible-for-the-paywall-policy) - [Official: Artificial Intelligence (AI) content policy - Medium Help Center (read 27 October 2026)](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/22576852947223-Artificial-Intelligence-AI-content-policy) - [Official: Revocation from the Medium Partner Program - Medium Help Center (read 27 October 2026)](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/22379888313751-Reasons-for-Revocation-from-the-Medium-Partner-Program) - [Official: Remove a story from the paywall - Medium Help Center (read 27 October 2026)](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018637634-Remove-a-story-from-the-paywall) - [Official: Medium Partner Program enrollment status - Medium Help Center (read 27 October 2026)](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/29975006166679-Medium-Partner-Program-enrollment-status) --- AwareXone is an independent Malaysia-based provider, not affiliated with any platform. The platform makes the final decision on every account. AwareXone never asks for passwords, OTP codes, backup codes or session cookies.