[platinum1]

> Am I a freedom fighter if I tell my boss that I'm not going to code that thing they want to get out the door next week, I have a pet project that I really like, and then me and all my other co-workers go on strike when I can't do that?

Yes, if you thought that thing you were going to code was antithetical to freedom. Just because you do or don't do something at work doesn't mean it's exempt from ethical scrutiny by either employees or society at large.

Something similar at Google for instance: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/11/27/google-...

and again regarding a military contract: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-alphabet-defense/google-t...

[aristophenes]

As I stated in my comment, the writers do not appear to believe that their bosses are asking them to do anything unethical, and that would certainly be a different situation justifying a different response. Definitely, writers should use ethics in deciding what to write. Do you think that writing about sports is unethical?

To steelman your argument, you may say that it would be unethical for the writers to not write about something they felt needed to be known, and I think I would agree with that. But that doesn't mean their bosses have to put it up on their site that they have decided to dedicate to sports. And it seems they are not using their freedom to, for example, expose modern day slavery, but rather to discuss music and clothing.

Finally I think these writers can do whatever they want, if they have a vision of what Deadspin is, and it doesn't agree with what management's vision is, they can push for it and quit if they don't get it. But I don't think it's necessary for this to become a moral judgment on the management that appears to just want one of their properties to be a sports site.