Tens of thousands of articles were appropriated from the websites of Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The Economist through hacking their paywall systems. Cirio then redistributed the pay-per-view articles for free and offered to pay readers and writers of the news articles. Readers could earn one dollar for responding correctly to quizzes about featured articles, and journalists were invited to claim compensation for their writing.

Donors could offer any amount to crowdfund the system. This circular economic model aims to monetise pirated content in exchange for informing the public about socio-economic issues. The artist sifted through thousands of news articles, editing fifteen issues, each featuring eight articles. DailyPaywall.com has over 60,000 articles and 1,000 print copies were distributed as a free paper available in custom newsracks and bookshops throughout New York City.

All materials of DailyPaywall.com and the related statements published by the artist haven’t been manipulated, they are accurate and factual. No fictitious elements were ever added to this project.