I will never tire of repeating it. Since we have been abandoning blogs, everything has been getting worse for authors.
Many artists have decided to dispense with controlled self-publishing and have already devoted their income to the whims of different companies, believing that they still have control over their content, and have ended up being squeezed by totalitarian rules that allow them to see their work censored or removed overnight, and even lose the money they have generated without any possibility of mediating to remedy the situation.
Malaimagen is the pseudonym of the well-known Chilean illustrator and cartoonist Guillermo Galindo (1981), who has seen Patreon close his account without giving any explanation as to why. They even warn him that they have no intention of commenting on the closure, clinging to their crappy "rules".
Patreon is a popular crowdfunding site for creative projects, founded in San Francisco (USA) in 2013 by musician Jack Conte and developer Sam Yam and currently used by many creators from different disciplines to receive monthly or one-off payments from their readers in exchange for exclusive content.
The author considers this move by Patreon as an act of censorship and a blow to freedom of expression.
Malaimagen posted the email it received from Patreon on its various social media accounts:
I want to communicate that the famous PATREON platform, where I was a user for years, has decided to delete my account, suddenly, arbitrarily and unilaterally. My first reaction was to think that it was a mistake, so I contacted them and they asked me for some information to verify my identity, which I sent them immediately. Finally, after a week, they ratified their decision to expel me, in an unappealable way and without giving any explanation. Their response was the one I attach in this image (Original and translation).
Needless to say, this affects me greatly, as I had dozens of subscribers, and I no longer publish in any media, only on my website and my social networks. They even closed my account before I could withdraw the contributions I had accumulated from the previous month, which I am claiming, because it seems to me an abuse and a lack of respect.
Given this, I can only suspect that this censorship is due to my type of content, which, in my opinion, is a blow to freedom of expression. Needless to say, I never posted racist or hateful content, or anything that would warrant my suspension as a user, as those who followed me can attest.
I am writing this to warn other authors, so that the same thing does not happen to them, and to invite those who followed and supported me on that platform, that if they want to continue to do so and continue accessing the content I offered there, they can subscribe to my ESPONSOR, a platform similar to Patreon but made in Chile, with whom I have direct contact and who have expressed their full support for me in this ungrateful situation.
All that remains is to move forward. Thanks to those who support my work, see you around!
Sincerely, malaimagen
Cartoonist and persona non grata at P4tr30n
PS: you can access my ESPONSOR by clicking on the link in my bio, or at www.esponsor.com/malaimagen
A handful of readers have decided to take to Patreon's Instagram account to leave them a recipe and messages of support for the cartoonist.
Humour in trouble, a collection of cases
Cases of cartoonists who have had problems of some importance because of their cartoons or satirical illustrations. There are also some stories of other people who, without being cartoonists, have got into trouble for sharing them.
