Many may not know what happened in this instance but this is an example of the unique value proposition offered by Steemit. Billionaire Joe Ricketts singlehandedly shut down Gothamist and DNAinfo. I don't know these particular websites well but have seen them in search results. These websites are now scrubbed out of existence and removed from the web.
This is only the beginning. Enough money and influence can get any centralized organization shut down. Of course when you have the ability to generate your own money and the network isn't centralized then it's a lot harder to shut down. The only problem with Steemit is the "privacy disaster" in the making in that it's a bit too transparent for it's own good.