Would it be more ethical not to pay? I don't get it.
Interview them for free, you're making money without compensating them. Interview them and give them part, you're exploiting them by underpaying them. Interview them and give them all profits, you're enabling their addiction. Give away the non-ad revenue, you're just abusing a tax writeoff. Don't give it away, you're enriching yourself.
Your economic ideology seems quite fluid, and seems to lack internal consistency.
Gets murky when we're talking about prostitutes that funnel their money to/get it stolen by pimps. Also gets murky when we're talking about drug addicts who are going to use that money to buy drugs. Also gets murky when we're talking about people that are under the influence of drugs. They probably don't want a video out there of them blasted to the moon if they ever get clean.
Interview them for free, you're making money without compensating them. Interview them and give them part, you're exploiting them by underpaying them. Interview them and give them all profits, you're enabling their addiction. Give away the non-ad revenue, you're just abusing a tax writeoff. Don't give it away, you're enriching yourself.
Your economic ideology seems quite fluid, and seems to lack internal consistency.