[Image: The logo for Substack on a faded, pixelated red background with a swastika in the center.]
As a Black trans US-American who is a long-time atheist, vegan, and pacifist, I am very accustomed to disagreeing with fellow progressives on issues of importance to me. On some issues, like theism, I’m fine with others worshiping however they wish as long as they don’t use their religion as a tool of oppression. On others, like veganism, I feel that the vast majority of people can and should adopt this stance, but the status quo is so entrenched that I don’t know how to counter it effectively (though I have tried).
Despite being worn down by the hatred and violence overtaking the country, I feel there are some effective measures I can take to push back against the growing fascism. One of them is documenting government abuses on Wikipedia. Another is urging my fellow progressives to, wherever possible, stop supporting organizations that knowingly platform white supremacist views. Substack is one of those platforms.
Substack’s willingness to promote – and profit from – white supremacy is not new. Back in 2023, The Atlantic, Techddirt, and other publications reported that multiple newsletters hosted by the platform displayed overt Nazi symbols alongside white nationalist content. A group letter signed by “Substackers Against Nazis” asked the leadership directly: “Why are you platforming and monetizing Nazis?”
In response, Substack took a “freeze peach” stance, claiming that “censoring” or demonetizing these (again, literally Nazi) newsletters would make the problem even worse. They did eventually agree to remove some of the publications, but did not reverse or modify their content policies.
Following these events, some major Substack authors – including crypto critic and veteran Wikipedian Molly White, whose work I highly recommend – left the platform. I was disappointed that many others, including some progressive trans writers like myself, did not. Whenever the subject came up, I told people that I would not host on or pay for subscriptions to a platform that openly welcomed Nazis, and linked to coverage about it for the unaware.
Indeed, some might still be unaware. A few weeks ago, one of my long-time Patreon supporters told me they could no longer support me on that platform because they disagreed with Patreon on some issue or other, and asked if I’d consider moving to Substack. I explained to them why I wouldn’t, and conceded that we all have different places where we draw the line. But my former supporter had no idea that Substack was platforming literal Nazis.
Nazis on Substack made the news again in late July, when the platform sent a push alert encouraging subscriptions to “NatSocToday”, a white nationalist newsletter featuring a swastika logo. Substack reported that sending the alert was an error, but did not apologize for hosting the content, which is still online as of this writing. As predicted, they are keeping the Nazi bar open.
While it distresses me that people of good conscience haven’t abandoned this Nazi bar in droves, it’s not too late for that to happen. Substack, despite its lofty ambitions, is not the preferred or default outlet for newsletters, blogs, or any other creative work. Substack for writing is not equivalent to Amazon for shopping or YouTube for videos. By getting the message out that platforming Nazis is unacceptable, I’m hoping that it stays that way, and eventually fades into irrelevance if they don’t change their policies.
For readers who are currently paying for one or more Substack subscriptions, I urge you to share this information with the writers you subscribe to, and ask them to consider migrating. If you agree with my stance, tell them that you can no longer pay for their content on a platform that supports Nazis.
For writers who host on Substack, please consider what I’ve written seriously. If you are a progressive who is marginalized like myself or supports people like me, I don’t doubt your good intentions or your need to earn money for your work. But I cannot condone your use of this platform, and hope you decide to leave sooner rather than later. If and when you do leave, please tell Substack why you’re doing so, and that you’ll consider returning if they change their policies.
As far as where to migrate, I am intentionally not making any specific recommendations. For full disclosure, I have blogged primarily on Medium for several years, and worked for them for 18 months as a contractor specializing in curation of DEI content. I intentionally waited until my contract was over and wrote this post on my own web site1 to emphasize that I am not advertising for that platform (or any other).
Help stop the spread of fascism by saying no to the Nazi bar. Say no to Substack becoming the premiere destination for online content, as long as they welcome white nationalists. Their hateful, blatantly racist discourse does not belong on any civilized online platform.
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