Substack Has A Nazi Opportunity

Substack has Nazis, because of course it does. Substack is on the internet, Nazis are on the internet, and if Substack doesn’t want Nazis it has to take affirmative steps to get rid of them. Flies don’t stop coming into the house because you want them to; they stop because you get off the couch and close the screen door. Any social media or blogging platform faces this. Substack may attract more Nazis than average because Substack has a “okay you don’t agree with me now but what if I wrote another 8,000 words about it” vibe. 2023 Nazis have a very “I didn’t have this insight until I read The Fountainhead for the sixth time, let me elaborate” thing going. Say what you want about the 1939 Nazis, but at least they were occasionally terse.

Substack having Nazis1 is currently the subject of debate. The Atlantic ran a piece about Substack’s “Nazi Problem” and recently a group of Substack writers wrote a group letter about it, asking Substack to get rid of the Nazis. They point out, correctly, that Substack authors have abandoned the platform before over its moderation choices and might again. On the other side, a bunch of Substack users offered a group letter saying they don’t want Substack to made content choices; they like a system where each writer and reader makes their own moderation choices. Substack’s co-founder Hamish McKenzie has now responded with a post confirming that it’s not going to moderate Nazis. So that seems to resolve that.

Site moderation is a big bundle of choices. As a writer and reader, I decide what’s important to me when I choose a site. Sometimes it’s about content I want to consume or avoid and fellow-travelers whose society I crave or despise. But sometimes it’s an ethos I want to endorse, or be seen as endorsing. Do I want to go on Twitter to signify that I am not a snowflake and that I am open to discussions of how the Jews created polio? Do I want to go on Mastodon to signify that I believe human perfection can be achieved through scolding? Do I want to go on LinkedIn and talk exclusively to people who hope to monetize my existence in their quest to be Deputy Assistant Regional Manager? Do I really only care if the app works on an iPad? It’s up to ...