At one time I had hopes that Steemit would be different, but this is just another microcosmic metaphor for greater life.

Staying in authenticity is rarely a commercially viable endeavor. People want to hear about how pretty the emperor's new clothes are, and where they can buy them... not that the emperor is, in fact, wearing no clothes. That fucks with too many people's paradigms, and too many people with big investments in the "profit paradigm" that requires conformity among all the Fanboys™.