“I CUM UP MATT MULLENWEG’S MOTHER’S OLD ASS !”
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… That (or something like it) is what an outraged blogger less polite than myself would say at this point…
Me ? I’m just writing WordPress and Automattic e-mail after e-mail.
But, hey… “Nobody home”, it seems !
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(March 25, 2026)
So, here’s the thing…
For fourteen years (that is to say since 2012), you’ve run a WordPress blog in which you’ve put tremendous amounts of time, energy, creativity and soul, meant to be a dynamic, evolving, existentialist testimony of a lucid individual in a world that is becoming more dystopian by the day.
You’ve generously shared your thoughts, ideas, political and philosophical commentary, (abundant) sarcasm and (discreet) poetry with those who are willing to read them. Of course, you haven’t forced anyone to do so; you’ve just made them available.
Not as a commodity. Not as an umpteenth formatted, easily consumable product that gives itself away as would some cheap whore (whatever their gender), but as an elaborate chain of thought and imagination with cross-referencing posts, always infused with positive energy (despite the often dark topics being tackled), both anchored in the here and now and transcending them, sometimes deliberately cryptic, often provocative (although not merely for the sake of it), that requires time[, references and an open mind] to be properly understood, doesn’t preach to any choir and doesn’t seek to enlist, but challenges readers to think for themselves and question established norms, conventions, habits and clichés in a (post-)Socratic way and an outspokenly Humanist perspective.
One of your main guidelines has always been to produce original content, both in substance and form, that is to say content that can’t be found anywhere else : why bother repeating or copying what is already being hammered all over the place, or any other platitudes ? In doing so, you’ve even, once in a while, come up with original concepts, new ways to apprehend and define the moribund political constructs as well as the outdated social structures of our time, producing more than your share of quotable fragments of lasting wisdom in the process.
You chose a blog rather than some (anti-)social-media account, because it allowed you to dive deeper into things than would some daily epiphenomenal, pseudo-intellectual, agitated circle jerk among overheated minds (for lack of a better word) and you shared, and shared and shared even more, knowing not only that some people get paid to watch the thousands of videos and read the hundreds of thousands of words on which to base their commentary, but also that your subversive endeavor entails some risk-taking.
But, after all those years, you’ve grown confident enough in WordPress’s stated commitment to free speech (cf. i.e. the November 21, 2013 article entitled “Striking Back Against Censorship” on WordPress’s official blog) to entertain the revolutionary thought that they might actually mean it… and stick to it, even though, for two entire years and on a daily basis, to the point of moral and physical exhaustion, all too aware of the fact that the methodical extermination of a People is not just an event like any other but a civilizational one indeed (One might say an “extinction-level event”, powered by the Empire…), you exclusively devoted your blog to what the enemies of Humanism (whatever their nationality and religious or philosophical beliefs) view as the most subversive affront of all : a ruthless takedown of the genocidal policy carried out by the “Judeo-nazi” government of Israel (controversial concept courtesy of the late Israeli visionary Yeshayahu Leibowitz)…
But let’s get to the point : On February 26, 2026, WordPress unilaterally “suspended” my main blog, yannickbaele.wordpress.com, allegedly because it had violated their “terms of service”. From one day to the next, I couldn’t even log in to my account anymore. Fourteen years of blogging, over 3,000 posts… all rendered inaccessible in a split second. All that remained was a blueish screen linking to a web page pertaining to suspended WordPress blogs, which was supposed to contain a form allowing the peasants whose creation the authoritarian Mastaz, for whatever reason, obviously have a problem with to servilely ask for the latter’s clemency.
Said web page comes with the following clarification : “If we find your site or any of its content to be in violation of our policies, we will remove content, disable certain features on your account, and/or suspend your site entirely.
Depending on the scenario, we will email you or add a warning notification to your dashboard.“
Yet, I did not receive any personal notification or any email from WordPress, let alone any prior warning. Additionally, the form only appears once the user is logged in, which I realized after logging in to a secondary blog of mine.
I immediately filled in and sent said form to wordpress.com with the following comment :
“Hi,
I just tried to log in to my main WordPress.com blog, but got a notification that it had been suspended instead. I had nonetheless added a post a few hours earlier.
When I type the blog’s URL itself, I’m being told that this would be due to “a violation of [your] terms of service”.
On the WordPress.com page pertaining to suspended blogs ( https://wordpress.com/support/suspended-blogs/#contact-form-for-suspended-content-and-sites ), I read the following :
“If we find your site or any of its content to be in violation of our policies, we will remove content, disable certain features on your account, and/or suspend your site entirely.
Depending on the scenario, we will email you or add a warning notification to your dashboard.”
Since I can no longer log into my account, the only way WordPress could have contacted me would have been through the e-mail address to which said account is linked. Yet, I have not received any e-mail, which means I have no other way of contacting you than through this secondary site.
I want to emphasize the fact that I haven’t received a single warning about any of my posts since I created the yannickbaele.wordpress.com blog (SOME FIFTEEN YEARS AGO !) and that I don’t have the slightest clue as to which potentially problematic post might suddenly have prompted your decision to suspend the entire blog.
I presume said decision came as a result of some third-party complaint, but after taking a good look at the various reasons for which one may introduce such a complaint (namely “abuse”, “privacy”, “person at risk”, “regulated material”, “technological harm” and “legal”), I really wonder what might have motivated any in this case.
In your (more exhaustive) user guidelines ( https://wordpress.com/support/user-guidelines/ ), I read that, at least to some extent, WordPress.com tolerates “hyperbole or offensive language” and that “parody and satire are okay”.
As it happens, parody and satire, as some of my latest posts undoubtedly indicate, are some of said blog’s trademarks.
In any case, I think a WordPress.com blogger who has posted regularly for the past 15 years and has put huge amounts of research and creativity (not to mention soul – through poetry, for instance) in his blog deserves better than a sudden, unexplained blanket suspension. If the reason for this is indeed a third-party complaint, I furthermore think that any complaining party is not the only one deserving some kind of protection; so does a loyal blogger, from potential harassment from a third party.
In conclusion, given no reason has been provided as to why it was suddenly suspended, I request http://yannickbaele.wordpress.com be reinstated.
Regards,
Yannick Baele”
In several forum posts, I read that WordPress usually answers such requests a day or two after receiving them.
Since, a week and a half later, WordPress still hadn’t had the basic courtesy to answer mine, I sent another form, this time via automattic.com, with the subject “Political censorship ?” :
“Dearest “Happiness Engineers” (*),
My name is Yannick Baele and, since 2012, I’ve been operating an eponymous (plurilingual) blog, yannickbaele.wordpress.com.
In the early (GMT) hours of February 26, 2026, said blog was suddenly “suspended”, allegedly for violating WordPress’s “Terms of Service”.
An hour or two earlier, I had published a new post.
I Instantaneously sought to contact WordPress to find out what terms said blog had allegedly violated, but Kafka was waiting around the corner (most likely by design). Indeed, the “support document” to which the ‘suspension page’ refers indicated that, “[d]epending on the scenario”, WordPress would either “email [me] or add a warning notification to [my blog’s] dashboard”. Yet, on the one hand, due to said ‘suspension’, I was of course unable to access said blog’s WP-admin dashboard and, on the other hand, to this day, WordPress still hasn’t emailed me about the issue.
Furthermore, the contact form on said “support document” ( https://wordpress.com/support/suspended-blogs/ ) only appears once the user logs in to their account, which, in this case, had, as previously stated, become impossible.
As a result, I was compelled to log in to a secondary blog in order to contact your happy colleagues. In the form, I mentioned the email address to which the “suspended” blog is linked (namely […]).
To this day, nearly a week and a half later, I still haven’t heard back from WordPress, in any shape or form.
I am (now) well aware of the Hobbesian (that is to say outright despotic) thirteenth provision contained in WordPress’s “Terms of Service”, with which the company allows itself to treat content creators worse than it would pets : to put it bluntly, your company considers itself entitled, when it suspends a blog “in [its] sole discretion”, to simply disregard them altogether, not only as if such an authoritarian decision wouldn’t in and of itself make them aggrieved parties, but, even more fundamentally, as if they were no human beings altogether.
But, in addition to the aforementioned stipulations in the “support document”, I’ve read several related topics on the WordPress forum, in which either WordPress staff or regular members guarantee a WordPress feedback.
Since WordPress has provided no reason for the blog’s suspension, I will, at this stage, refrain from speculating, although it sure looks like political censorship.
I will, however, point out that :
– I am indeed the owner of yannickbaele.wordpress.com, and that I am not impersonating anyone (I did, however, find out that another Belgian with [an online] presence was apparently carrying the same name, unless that itself is but a sorry attempt at identity theft…);
– I have meticulously made sure all the news snippets I’ve used in my blog were properly attributed (with the source’s logo, the article’s URL as well as the original date of publication) and I have NEVER resorted to any kind of plagiarism (ANYTHING in there that is not mine is between quotation marks, with the relevant hyperlink in nearly all instances);
– Although I often post (public !) videos with a start and end time, I have never personally edited any video. Additionally, when the excerpt used takes some words out of their context for satirical purposes, it almost always comes with the entire video, so as to allow viewers to watch it in its entirety, if they so wish;
– I have never resorted to spams or ads, nor have I wittingly uploaded or linked to any “technologically harmful material”;
– I haven’t posted any “private information” about third parties;
– I haven’t directly – or indirectly – threatened anyone or any group.
Aside from that, is my content controversial ? It most certainly is, but, much like Carlin, I always punch up and favor the underdog, whether they be, for instance, Palestinian children or Israeli peaceniks !
Every single topic I’ve tackled in my blog is worthy of social and/or political discussion in any “free and open society” !!!
Alternating text and images, words and sounds, satire and crude political analysis, humor and seriousness in a mix of politics, philosophy and art which may, at first sight, appear chaotic but is actually very structured, my blog constitutes an individual’s response to these dystopian times. It has well-established principles, and that is why it doesn’t compromise with the so-called ‘powers that be’ : “Le pouvoir, d’où qu’il vienne, c’est vraiment de la merde !”, as the acclaimed author of Les Anarchistes and Ni Dieu Ni Maître used to say…
Leave no one behind.
Happiness for every one as defined by oneself.
Happiness for everyone at no one’s expense.
Live, let live and encourage life.
Such are the four pillars of my own philosophy, featured multiple times in my blog [in phrase cloud format].
During the nearly fifteen years I’ve managed it, I’ve put incredible amounts of time, energy, creativity and soul in this blog… It’s not my life ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCLhZtCPb4Q ), it’s not me, but it is, at the very least, a reflection of me. And, if one believes God, rather than by linear diktats, is best served by the expression of the greatest (yet most harmonious) possible diversity, then it is indeed an ode to It : I am proud to say there’s nothing like this blog ! Not a damn thing !
For fourteen years, I’ve cherished the creative latitude and the numerous tools WordPress has provided me, and I never ever thought censorship was lurking.
I never thought some faulty AI ‘suit’ which hasn’t yet been [taught] the meaning of second- or third-degree discourse, or some similarly affected human “happiness” bot, would, from one day to the next, feel entitled to push a damn button to relegate a fourteen-year-old blog to some parallel cloud.
Is that because I remain desperately naive or because I remember Matty’s inspiring words : “Wordpress is so unique because we’re not just a product; we’re a movement” (Source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frzFs1oLtHI ) ? Maybe a bit of both…
In any case, I would greatly appreciate WordPress consider the possibility of treating me like a human being and help me resolve what must assuredly be but a sorry misunderstanding…
Should [Automattic.com] itself not be the designated interlocutor for this kind of query, may I humbly ask you transfer it to the right one, bearing in mind they should by now have found the time to answer the original one, directly addressed to them…
Best regards,
Yannick Baele
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(*)
– “Where am I ?”
– “In the Village”…”
To this day, that is to say a full month after my blog was unilaterally “suspended”, WordPress, despite these two explicit requests, still hasn’t communicated with me in any way, not even to acknowledge that they had received either one of my requests and were investigating the matter !
In the latter form, I included the URL of a seven-year-old video by Jamarl Thomas from The Progressive Soapbox ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCLhZtCPb4Q ), which seems to tell a very similar story. Although I have no idea what that particular (twelve-year-old) blog was about or why it was abruptly taken down, Thomas’s comments clearly indicate it too was “suspended” on a whim, without notifying that particular content creator/peasant or letting him appeal that decision in any way either :
WordPress : Your blog has been suspended for violating WordPress’s Terms of Service. (Please note that this is a generic accusation.)
Content Creator : Oh yeah ? What “terms of service” did it violate exactly ?
WordPress : Fuck off !
Content Creator : But… But… I’ve invested so much of myself in this blog for the past twelve years. Please ! Please !!! It’s all I have to express myself ! You can’t just throw it away ! You’re recklessly playing with people’s lives here ! If, somehow, your ToS were really violated, just tell me how, so that we can find a workaround… Please ! Please !!!
WordPress : [mute]
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This may come as a surprise, but I understand the difference between free speech as a public policy, and free speech graciously granted by corporate Mastaz. I also understand that WordPress is not, for instance, DemocracyNow! (you know, “the voice of the voiceless”)… But, be that as it may, whatever the context (Not even said Mastaz are divine entities in a political and legal vacuum, are they ?…), the key difference between a free playing field and a despotic environment is and always will remain multilateralism, which entails the enshrined possibility of contradiction : WordPress is accusing my blog of having violated its “terms of service”. Yet, not only do they fail to provide any concrete explanation, let alone documentation, for their generic accusation; they don’t even allow me to be heard. Therefore, in this particular instance and all others like it (and believe me, I never thought I would one day feel compelled to say this), it is indeed despotism WordPress embodies. The word is not excessive; it is denominational.
Other (more recent) analogies would be pertinent, but it’s not for nothing that, in his video, Jamarl Thomas drew a parallel between WordPress’s reckless and, quite frankly, despicable handling of such blog “suspensions” and Stalin’s Moscow trials. He could also have mentioned the McCarthy hearings, were it not for the fact that, although their fate was sealed before the hearings even started, even McCarthy’s political targets were allowed to speak (albeit pro forma) ! In this instance, there aren’t even any hearings : the Masta has ruled !
Unless and until WordPress precisely defines the detailed grounds for their baseless accusation, the Company® has, in my mind, become a mere cog in Idiocracy (the movie).
But what I’d like to ask others on this forum is the following :
– Did you or anyone you know also experience this kind of corporate despotism ?
– If so, do you think it was due to :
a/ political censorship ?
b/ inadequacy between the content you’ve produced and the standardized expectations of the companies sullying your (free) blog with their silly ads (that is to say : commercial censorship) ?
c/ a false complaint registered by some third party seeking to cause you damage, on which WordPress acted unilaterally ?
– Whatever the reason, do you think this recklessness is in any way dignified/acceptable ?
– How many Content Creators do you think WordPress has treated this way over the years ? And do you happen to have any company statistics on the matter ? Or know of any lawsuits ?
– Last but not least, did you or anyone you know, as a result of your[/their] blog being “suspended”, encounter any violations of your/their own intellectual property, for which WordPress might be indirectly liable (cf. article 9 of WordPress’s “terms of service”, last updated on September 23, 2025) ?
Awaiting your feedback,
Yannick Baele
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P.S. : It’s now been two months since my blog was taken down without the slightest explanation, and WordPress still keeps playing dead !
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
WordPress.com Forums 