Substackers Against Nazis

Oh my gosh, what the fork is Substack doing.

A quick note to current members of pocket observatory. I’ve been seriously thinking about moving this newsletter since July. Partially because it felt like what I wanted to do was getting too big for this space. But mostly because all my misgivings about Substack felt starkly accurate by then.

I would rather not move, for many reasons. Some of the reasons are honorable, some are merely pragmatic. Mostly, I don’t want to move because you, my dear reader, are already here.

Still, I’ve been building in the background, for when the leap became inevitable. In my head, I had until April to have everything sorted. But that timeline might have been too long. We’ll know soon. Whatever happens, your paid and unpaid subscriptions will remain intact! Do not worry!

Or, more simply, as

Alexander Chee

said in his newsletter when he shared this letter to Substack leadership today,

“I have prepared to move this newsletter to another platform that will preserve your existing subscriptions, depending on their response.”

Alexander is a much better writer than me, look at how concise he is!

After the letter, I’ll share bits and pieces from the conversations I’ve been on Substack having since last night.

I also very, very much recommend you read

Jonathan M. Katz

Atlantic article quoted in this letter. It is more and more jaw-dropping with every line.

I’ll write more soon on this, digging into the care and economics of it all, along with other problems I feel cresting. And also, my fury. My absolute rage that you and I have created a space where we can advocate for reproductive healthcare, speak out against domestic abuse, and rail against war but it might all get jumbled, even temporarily, because three dudes and the investor dudes behind them really, really want to die on the “monetizing Nazis is freedom” hill.

I can’t support that. I can’t ask you to support it.

I mean, how dare they? It’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for them.

If you want to keep supporting this space, but can no longer support Substac? I get it. For now, here is a place to make one-time donations. I’ll have a more robust monthly option set up soon.

And like, I am crying in the coffee shop right now because….writing isn’t a part-time thing for me. It’s my entire work. This is my livelihood. I pay for my mom’s mortgage, processing disorder interventions for my children and GROCERIES with the money I make here. And so yeah, I am furious that all is being put at risk. FOR NAZIS.

I could go on!

But right now, let’s focus on this excellent CONCISE letter. (Written by a better writer than me! Obviously!)

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Dear Chris, Hamish & Jairaj:

We’re asking a very simple question that has somehow been made complicated: Why are you platforming and monetizing Nazis? 

According to a piece written by Substack publisher Jonathan M. Katz and published by The Atlantic on November 28, this platform has a Nazi problem: 

“Some Substack newsletters by Nazis and white nationalists have thousands or tens of thousands of subscribers, making the platform a new and valuable tool for creating mailing lists for the far right. And many accept paid subscriptions through Substack, seemingly flouting terms of service that ban attempts to ‘publish content or fund initiatives that incite violence based on protected classes’...Substack, which takes a 10 percent cut of subscription revenue, makes money when readers pay for Nazi newsletters.”

As Patrick Casey, a leader of a now-defunct neo-Nazi group who is banned on nearly every other social platform except Substack, wrote on here in 2021: “I’m able to live comfortably doing something I find enjoyable and fulfilling. The cause isn’t going anywhere.” Several Nazis and white supremacists including Richard Spencer not only have paid subscriptions turned on but have received Substack “Bestseller” badges, indicating that they are making at a minimum thousands of dollars a year.

From our perspective as Substack publishers, it is unfathomable that someone with a swastika avatar, who writes about “The Jewish question,” or who promotes Great Replacement Theory, could be given the tools to succeed on your platform. And yet you’ve been unable to adequately explain your position. 

In the past you have defended your decision to platform bigotry by saying you “make decisions based on principles not PR” and “will stick to our hands-off approach to content moderation.” But there’s a difference between a hands-off approach and putting your thumb on the scale. We know you moderate some content, including spam sites and newsletters written by sex workers. Why do you choose to promote and allow the monetization of sites that traffic in white nationalism? 

Your unwillingness to play by your own rules on this issue has already led to the announced departures of several prominent Substackers, including Rusty Foster and Helena Fitzgerald. They follow previous exoduses of writers, including Substack Pro recipient Grace Lavery and Jude Ellison S. Doyle, who left with similar concerns. 

As journalist Casey Newton told his more than 166,000 Substack subscribers after Katz’s piece came out: “The correct number of newsletters using Nazi symbols that you host and profit from on your platform is zero.” 

We, your publishers, want to hear from you on the official Substack newsletter. Is platforming Nazis part of your vision of success? Let us know—from there we can each decide if this is still where we want to be.

Signed, 

Substackers Against Nazis

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I am including embedded posts for those who want to view them on Notes. For those that don’t, images below.