In a statement provided to CNN on Tuesday, Substack said that it had banned multiple publications due to their incitement of violence. This came after writers on the platform threatened to resign due to the inclusion of pro-Nazi content.
Five sites have been removed by Substack after Casey Newton, the founder of the tech news publication Platformer, brought attention to a list of publications that did not follow the company’s content requirements.
According to the company, all of the canceled newsletters had a combined readership of approximately 100 and none of them have paying subscribers.
The removal of the content may indicate a shift in policy for Substack, a subscription network that allows writers to create paid or free newsletters but has a relatively lax moderation policy.
According to the company, its goal is to serve as a gathering place for unique viewpoints, knowledgeable analysis, and critical dialogue that are harder to come by in mainstream media.
A November article in The Atlantic revealed at least sixteen different newsletters with Nazi symbols and many more supporting far-right extremism. Despite the platform’s explicit guidelines prohibiting content that incites violence, many Substack authors called for change and the leadership refused.
More than 200 writers on the site denounced in a letter dated December 2022 the existence of newsletters with thousands of paying subscribers that promoted Nazi and white supremacist ideas, alleging Substack was facilitating the distribution of such information and making money off of it.
10% of the proceeds from premium newsletters are taken by Substack.
The letter states, “As Substack publishers, we find it incomprehensible that someone who writes about “The Jewish question” or supports Great Replacement Theory and has a swastika avatar could be given the resources to thrive on your platform.”
In response, co-founder Hamish McKenzie said in a statement published in late December that the removal of these publications will restrict free speech and open discussion.
“I just want to be clear that, although we wish that no one held such opinions, we too dislike Nazis. However, McKenzie stated in December that some people do hold those and other extreme viewpoints. In light of this, we believe that censorship—including demonetizing publications—does not solve the issue; on the contrary, it exacerbates it.
Substack claims it does not intend to change its present decentralized method of moderation, which “gives power to readers and writers,” McKenzie said in a newsletter the business reshared with CNN on Tuesday. Despite this, the company has decided to stop publishing some of these newsletters.
“We will take appropriate action if and when we become aware of any additional content that violates our guidelines,” the firm stated in their statement.
In those investment rounds, Substack has raised millions from well-known venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz, and its valuation has ranged from $500 million to $1 billion.
Many well-known writers who support free speech, unorthodox thinking, and open conversation, including Glenn Greenwald, Matthew Yglesias, Andrew Sullivan, Bari Weiss, and Heather Cox Richardson, were hired by the company.
According to the corporation, Substack has more than 35 million active memberships, including 2 million premium subscriptions. Amidst the controversy, some newsletters departed from the platform, while others, such as Platformer, made threats to do the same.
The struggle has only just begun, according to the Platformer writer, even after Substack banned particular accounts with content that expressly incites violence after Newton pointed out those mailings.
Explicitly Nazi publications on Substack are expected to vanish in the next several days. However, Newton noted on Monday that there will still be a larger disagreement over content management within its user base. “Expect these tensions to resurface the next time the company has a content moderation controversy, which it will.”
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