News about newsletters… in a newsletter (#meta). Substack, a hub for independent writers to publish email newsletters, booted five accounts following backlash for hosting newsletters that touted pro-Nazi views. The limited ban may be too little, too late for many of the platform’s writers. Some of Substack’s biggest stars threatened to peace out, including author Margaret Atwood and Platformer’s Casey Newton, and potentially taking myriad subscribers with them — and the 10% cut Substack skims off paid subs.
Substack’s POV: Substack has said that demonetizing or banning radical accounts would censor free expression.
Called out: Newton called out Substack’s stance as unusual, since most mainstream platforms ban or restrict violent organizations and extremist content like pro-Nazi posts.
Uprising at the content factory… more like dis-content. Creators have become more vocal against a variety of platform changes. 7K+ Reddit forums (including biggies like r/funny and r/aww) went dark temporarily after the site said it would charge third-party apps more to access its content. Twitch streamers with millions of followers called for a boycott over changes to how creators monetize (it worked: Twitch backtracked). X users ditched the site for smaller competitors like Mastodon following numerous policy changes under Elon Musk — and advertisers left in their wake.
Creator pressure can make a company fold… Substack has typically taken a loose approach to content moderation, and it took the company weeks to boot a handful of controversial accounts after an Atlantic article stoked backlash. But even Substack’s small concession shows a crack in its resolve, setting a precedent that it can be pressured to change when big names threaten to bail.