I also believe I know who the unnamed Cambodian blogger quoted in the article is. She is known for discussing progressive issues and has well-deserved popularity among young Cambodian people, but apparently circulation of her posts and videos took a huge hit after these changes in the algorithm.
It is a little ironic that the Cambodia Daily is having its "second life" online -- they were so embittered by the impact of online journalism on traditional print journalism that there was an editorial policy against even posting links or URLs in any article on their website. Of course, I'm not cheering for their demise, given the need for a free press here. I know a number of people who work at the Phnom Penh Post, the other big Cambodian newspaper, who have plainly said in recent weeks that they can't / won't write anything critical of the government. The political climate is feeling more and more volatile here by the moment. In the days before the CNRP was dissolved, we even had military police going through every stairwell of every tiny alley, including my own, on some made-up pretense but really as a cheap intimidation tactic. As the election approaches there will be squads of heavily armed military police posted on nearly every corner of many districts in Phnom Penh.
That's to increase ad revenue, make no mistake about it. Like Google's algorithm and display changes...buy ads to be on top of the page
Move Fast and Break Stuff, is ethically and morally unsound when the end result is making it easier to silence, jail, and execute the press.