it’s barely been two months this time, between #speechify ‘s CEO attempting this without informing writers & this scam. “Oh no! Writing fanfiction isn’t making anyone any money!” #cliffweitzman , is that you??
Also this insane comment???
"Similarly, sites like Archive of Our Own operate on a non-commercial, volunteer-driven model, providing no direct income for contributors. This highlights a persistent gap between high user engagement and financial sustainability for creators in this space."
UM?
"Similarly, sites like Archive of Our Own operate on a non-commercial, volunteer-driven model, providing no direct income for contributors. This highlights a persistent gap between high user engagement and financial sustainability for creators in this space."
UM?
February 26, 2025 at 10:50 PM
it’s barely been two months this time, between #speechify ‘s CEO attempting this without informing writers & this scam. “Oh no! Writing fanfiction isn’t making anyone any money!” #cliffweitzman , is that you??
#CliffWeitzman ‘s thus far extremely dismissive response toward the authors whose copyright he violated, and his subsequent attempts to quietly bury #Speechify ‘s advertising of #WordStream, raise significant concerns about Speechify’s business practices and overall integrity.
January 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
#CliffWeitzman ‘s thus far extremely dismissive response toward the authors whose copyright he violated, and his subsequent attempts to quietly bury #Speechify ‘s advertising of #WordStream, raise significant concerns about Speechify’s business practices and overall integrity.
Only today has the copyrighted material been properly delisted from #WordStream's search results and cut off from member access. #CliffWeitzman has yet to publicly acknowledge any wrongdoing on his or his company's part.
January 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Only today has the copyrighted material been properly delisted from #WordStream's search results and cut off from member access. #CliffWeitzman has yet to publicly acknowledge any wrongdoing on his or his company's part.
Listened to a podcast with @AliAbdaal & @cliffweitzman. I think I am going to try to become an audiobook guy.
November 19, 2024 at 12:55 AM
Listened to a podcast with @AliAbdaal & @cliffweitzman. I think I am going to try to become an audiobook guy.
![Speechify®’s Terms & Conditions state that, by submitting material to their platform, you assert you own the rights to it.
A screenshot of Speechify’s website, with the following text highlighted:
[quote]‘7.6 Each time you submit User Material to us, you represent and warrant to us as follows:
(a) You own your User Material or have the right to submit it, and in submitting it you will not be infringing any rights of any third party, including intellectual property rights (such as copyright (…)’[end quote]
An arrow points to a second screenshotted paragraph, with the remark ‘<-this one's also interesting. especially for our kinkier nerds’ in a handwritten font:
[quote](b) Your User Material is not illegal, obscene, defamatory, threatening, pornographic, (…) or is otherwise deemed inappropriate.’ [end quote]
it also states that, by using their platform, you grant Speechify® the right to publish and exploit this material—or any ideas contained within—in essentially any way the company wants.
[quote]“7.8 (…) by submitting User Material you hereby grant Speechify an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty free, worldwide license to use, telecast, copy, perform, display, edit, distribute and otherwise exploit the User Material you post on the Services, or any portion thereof, and any ideas, concepts, or know-how contained therein, with or without attribution, and without the requirement of any permission from or payment to you or to any other person or entity, in any manner (including, without limitation, for commercial, publicity, trade, promotional, or advertising purposes) and in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Material, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing without any payment of money or any other form of consideration to you or to any third party. (…)”[end quote]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cupcbiyqskvohim4cvfrutip/bafkreifn7xnii5rdq6tnkaq6nblkmwj3tqvzzw5jgsypscocqq6cd37lg4@jpeg)
![A screenshot of a tumblr message posted by someone with the username @cliffweitzman:
[quote]cliffweitzman replied to your text post
“Hey everybody, the person behind word stream here: (…) Word Stream is free for anyone to use. There is a paid plan for ppl who want to use high quality text to speech which is priced at the minimum amount we can to cover server/gpu costs to power the text to speech. The next iteration will also include free text to speech but with a lower quality bar. (…) Please email me if we have a peace of work that is yours you don't want up there and I will take it down immediately (…) A future release will also add the ability to tip authors so writers can make money not from selling the works but via tips from grateful readers (…) I apologize for a beta product that got more attention that it had any right to before it was complete (…) Warmly, Cliff”[end quote]
Weitzman maintains to this day that he sees nothing wrong with monetizing work authored by others without their permission, as long as we don't personally & explicitly tell him that we don't want him to.
(A bad drawing of a small stick figure looking up at a tall stick figure. The small figure says “please don't steal our work, Cliff!” The tall figure, depicted with a yellow halo, responds “alright, I won’t steal YOURS. because YOU ASKED so nicely.”)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cupcbiyqskvohim4cvfrutip/bafkreiblin5ahce4bb6rwfo5ar4yez5n3dolnxl577e5frcltmletkmyqy@jpeg)
In December 2024, #Speechify's CEO #CliffWeitzman scraped stories from #AO3 without authors' permission and put them on his new, for-profit platform #WordStream. When faced with backlash from the fan community, Weitzman quickly hid these works from public view. 🧵
January 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
In December 2024, #Speechify's CEO #CliffWeitzman scraped stories from #AO3 without authors' permission and put them on his new, for-profit platform #WordStream. When faced with backlash from the fan community, Weitzman quickly hid these works from public view. 🧵
hello all, I’m getting reports that works that were accessed on word-stream before they were hidden by #CliffWeitzman can STILL be accessed in full, both as text and as AI-generated audio. make sure to check the latest additions to the tumblr post via this link: www.tumblr.com/ekingston/77...
December 29, 2024 at 7:48 PM
hello all, I’m getting reports that works that were accessed on word-stream before they were hidden by #CliffWeitzman can STILL be accessed in full, both as text and as AI-generated audio. make sure to check the latest additions to the tumblr post via this link: www.tumblr.com/ekingston/77...
I tried to summarize the whole #CliffWeitzman #word-stream situation as it transpired the best I could over on tumblr. Please share this post instead of my original updates if you can, it has all the most recent & relevant information in one place: www.tumblr.com/ekingston/77...
you do not have to be good.
SO HERE IS THE WHOLE STORY (SO FAR).
I am on my knees begging you to reblog this post and to stop reblogging the original ones I sent out yesterday. This is the complete account with all the most re…
www.tumblr.com
December 25, 2024 at 1:30 AM
I tried to summarize the whole #CliffWeitzman #word-stream situation as it transpired the best I could over on tumblr. Please share this post instead of my original updates if you can, it has all the most recent & relevant information in one place: www.tumblr.com/ekingston/77...
#CliffWeitzman needs to take responsibility for his actions, demonstrate his understanding that taking these freely shared fanworks with the explicitly stated intent to monetize them was wrong, and outline steps he and #Speechify will take to ensure it won’t happen again.
January 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
#CliffWeitzman needs to take responsibility for his actions, demonstrate his understanding that taking these freely shared fanworks with the explicitly stated intent to monetize them was wrong, and outline steps he and #Speechify will take to ensure it won’t happen again.
I see #cliffweitzman of #speechify is still up to his usual tricks, not even hiding anymore that this platform he claims is meant to help out people with learning disabilities is specifically designed to make its users commit piracy and copyright infringement while paying him 💰💰💰 for the privilege
Speechify is an app which, per the scenario in their promo video, encourages users to go into bookstores, photograph books page by page, and then use “AI” to have the text read back to them (up to 4.5x faster!) in one of 500 synthetic “celebrity” voices.
October 4, 2025 at 11:31 PM
I see #cliffweitzman of #speechify is still up to his usual tricks, not even hiding anymore that this platform he claims is meant to help out people with learning disabilities is specifically designed to make its users commit piracy and copyright infringement while paying him 💰💰💰 for the privilege