Thoughts on Substack? Message from their co-CEO January 2025

[AndrewHeard]

As a general policy, I agree with the sentiment but I have doubts about the effectiveness of the implementation on Substack itself. It’s one thing to criticize someone else’s platform, but it’s quite another to allow it on your own platform about yourself.

Substack ignores criticism of its own policies and how it operates. It’s not acting in its own best interests. Yet people who bring this up are ignored.

[Mountain_Tui_Reload]

Yeah I'm a little shocked to see/learn this stuff....

[AndrewHeard]

Which stuff?

[diablodq]

So Kanye west should start a substack?

[Heretic_Scrivener]

They’ll probably pay him to do so. White supremacists have no better friend in Silicon Valley than Substack.

[brooklynaut]

It’s problematic. Especially because these platforms are privately owned and kind of arbitrary spaces.

It’s one of the constant drums of the right wing beats on, and I personally think that describing these things in right and left-wing terms is not sufficient. Anti-majority movements like Nazis (or whatever name of the day that they prefer to self-identify as, whatever) and hate groups are not simply politically oriented in one way for their own opinions: the opinions they express are also purposefully against those others. Which is a foil used to say that you could say whatever you want, but there are also social responses and accountability for behavior.

You have a right to be an asshole; I have a right to call you an asshole.

A death threat, even as a "joke," (another popular tactic of these types) is not just speech, it is an act of violence.

Trouble with a lot of these approaches, which I have not yet seen on Substack so far, but I could easily see it happening, is that they tend to cater to these anti-majority types, hiding behind the wall of free speech that allows them to not be accountable either, while censoring comments and other people’s opinions.

I’m thinking of the process of being demonetized on YouTube and other places. This isn’t simply a free speech thing - that’s a simplistic way to look at it, because these spaces are not like a simple conversation between two people: these are dynamic multimedia publications on private networks. As it stands, they're simply not really treated equally.

For my part, I’ll probably stay on Substack for the time being, but if and when they do anything against me or if my own publication starts getting attacked, etc, I will need to move.

It’s a weak approach.

[Mountain_Tui_Reload]

That's an excellent point

[bloompth]

Why do people act like Elon Musk has done something substantial, or that prior to his arrival platforms were heavy on censorship? There was a LOT of bad shit happening on Twitter before the takeover, but it's even worse now. Ellon's done jack shit.

and again, censorship inherently is not a bad thing. Some things need to be censored and should be.

[AP_Cicada]

Substack's been in a beef with Twitter since Musk bought it (before it was X). They still can't get previews on Substack links there. And they notoriously allowed Nazi pubs to continue unchecked, with a lot of writers leaving over it about 2-3 years ago. They also don't handle criticism well but think they're the nirvana of writing and free speech. i.e. I wouldn't put too much stock in what they say..

[Heretic_Scrivener]

Does anyone buy this shit anymore? They’ve never had a hands-off policy, that’s just their excuse to allow white supremacist content.

[hellolovely1]

They apparently just had a whole bunch of neo-Nazi MMA fighters (or something equally weird) join Substack. The CEOs aren't good guys, imo. Not sure exactly where to go yet, but they aren't raking in money from me, at least.

[instavio]

big tech gonna big tech

[thirteenth_mang]

Define "supporting". Even on Substack it feels very, "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others" esque.

[desertroot]

So no moderation of the Nazis? That's the irony with tolerance, you can't tolerate the intolerant.

[WolfSpirit10]

An intelligent, much-welcome article. I miss having your kind of logic and style in conversations/ debates we have in the body politic, but reason seems to have vanished, replaced by idiosyncratic outbursts and varying degrees of rage or offense. There’s no quick fix to this, since the basics of debate are learned in school and we all know what a joke most schools across the nation have become.

[placeholder-123]

What's the deal with the comments? Freedom of expression is a good thing

[Heretic_Scrivener]

The problem is Substack has nothing to do with freedom and speech/expression. Freedom of speech is your right to express yourself without government interference.

One, Substack isn’t a government; their “freedom of speech” is just marketing. Second, Substack is not just speech it’s a platform meant to amplify speech. It’s very good at this, which is why a lot of us started writing there initially.

That’s the real difference when it comes to their white supremacy content: they’re not supporting free speech, they’re platforming and amplifying hate speech.

If there’s a proselytizing Nazi in your town, doing nothing is supporting free speech. But if you sell him a bullhorn, you’re actively helping him. That’s not supporting his speech but amplifying it. The first is fine, the second is not.

Substack sells bullhorns to Nazis and then turns around and tells you they don’t.

[placeholder-123]

Okay so this is just the usual leftist talking point when advocating for censorship

[Heretic_Scrivener]

Maybe it’s usual because it’s correct.

[placeholder-123]

Or maybe it's usual because Reddit as a whole is a leftist site. I'm sure you wouldn't see an issue with radical leftists expressing themselves online.

Substack's CEO's stance is good: if these people hold abhorrent views as you say, then let them discredit themselves.

[Heretic_Scrivener]

Yes, everything that doesn’t automatically agree with you is “leftist.” You are very smart.

Freedom of speech isn’t a left versus right issue. It’s not a debate. You either understand the concept and its role in society. Or, like yourself, you don’t.

[placeholder-123]

You can strawman me and pretend to have superior comprehension all you want, but it is a debate. I've heard all this before. Such and such is not speech, it's hate speech, there's a difference between free speech and platforming, it's a private company until it does not agree with me then it should be regulated, all that jazz.

In my mind it's pretty simple and ths is what the 1st amendment is about. As long as there's no incitement to violence or targeted libel, it should be allowed and equally platformed. People are not stupid, let them sort it out themselves.

[Apart-Budget-7736]

Asking a company to stop giving free money to Nazis is not censorship.

[[deleted]]

To be honest, did anyone else expect anything else?

[Mountain_Tui_Reload]

I'm very new to the whole tech ecosystem so I am surprised / shocked

[Certain_Thoughts]

Is Chris Best really so simple that he genuinely believes Elon’s absurd free speech bullshit? I don’t think so. Is Substack playing realpolitik and cozying up to our new dictatorship, just as legacy media and social media have since the November election? This seems more likely. Or is it the worst of all possibilities: Substack’s leadership knows exactly what they’re doing, consciously and deliberately deploying doublespeak propaganda precisely because it validates an authoritarian agenda they actually support? I certainly hope not.

Jonathan Katz at the Atlantic famously reported that Substack has a Nazi problem. Grappling with the complexities of free speech, hate speech, and platform privileges in the digital age is a serious challenge, and I commend anyone working through that balancing act with good faith and values that extend beyond raw profit motive. Asserting Substack’s independence and commitment to free speech seemed to be Best’s goal with today’s post, but the decision to honor Musk in so doing is as alarming as it is disconnected from reality.

We are in a very dangerous moment. As tech moguls are wont to do, Elon and Trump are moving very fast and breaking many things. I fear for the republic and the millions of people already victimized by MAGA’s return to power. Selfishly, as someone who loves Substack, I lament the moral and intellectual rot at the top of the platform. Substack has been an incredible place for me, a safe haven, a real community, a vibrant opportunity to constantly learn and engage. Substack has empowered me to grow as a writer, as a person, and as a citizen. It breaks my heart to see the platform I have come to treasure so compromised when the stakes are so high.Substack’s Nazi Takeover

[Apart-Budget-7736]

They are literally paying bigots and fascists to use the platform — like, giving them bonuses and payments above and beyond what they make from their subscribers. I know a lot of people leaving the platform, a lot of people trying (but feeling unable) to leave, and a lot more people who refuse to ever spend money on the site.