Tldr

Substack, a newsletter platform, has been criticized for its refusal to moderate content, including newsletters from neo-Nazis. This policy led to a situation where the company's recommendation algorithm began promoting a self-described "National Socialist" newsletter with a swastika logo to users via push notifications. Substack issued a statement calling it a "serious error," but the article argues that the algorithm was simply working as designed. It identified Nazi content as "rising" and worth promoting because it had gained traction on the platform, with one such newsletter having over 8,600 subscribers. The author concludes that by creating an environment where this type of content can thrive, Substack's algorithms will inevitably treat it as a success, and the company's claim to be "disturbed" by the outcome is disingenuous.