Few people had actually read A.H.'s Mein Kampf. It was an artifact to display, it sounds like, that served as a cultural signifier. A loss-leader project to make his name as well known as that of his contemporary over in Italy. (... OTOH Benito M. made his name first as a journalist...)
Darn it, I need to read the Atlantic piece about this uproar, it seems, after postponing it as long as I have.
A recommendation... I “found” you via a recommendation from another Substack, and have a free subscription. But I can’t get a feel for whether I should spring for a paid subscription because whenever I check out a post, it is only for paying subscribers. You might want to consider offering some additional free content as part of your “sale” so that people can see if the content is something they want to read on a paid basis.
These have been my thoughts exactly. I considered moving to Ghost back when Substack launched Notes, but as a tiny indie creator I can’t afford the fees right now. I see
a lot of outrage, but not a lot of alternatives. 🤷
Publishers certainly publish 'right-wingers', as you say - but do they publish outright, open Nazis, which is the matter at stake in this Substack case? (Perhaps they do! You'd know better than I. But I'd be quite surprised.)
Eliding the two is convenient if you wish to argue the opposition to Substack is a bit over-blown (as you do), but it's also dishonest.
..."articulated how such a move would not hurt the wages of the common Substack-worker."
Perhaps it does hurt people's incomes - but if you're not willing to follow your principles because of minor cost or personal inconvenience, they're not really principles, are they - just pablum.
For anyone seeking a more substantial discussion on this topic, I'd recommend the comments on Platformer.
I expect it would not be hard to find more examples. The definition of "Nazi" confuses me. To me, it refers to a particular political party. If we want to extend it to white supremacists and those who support the great replacement theory, we could find more examples of people from both the "Nazi" and "against Nazis" groups who share a publisher.
You have read Jonathan M. Katz's original piece in the Atlantic 'Substack Has a Nazi Problem' (28 November), in which he writes:
"At least 16 of the newsletters that I reviewed have overt Nazi symbols, including the swastika and the sonnenrad, in their logos or in prominent graphics. Andkon’s Reich Press, for example, calls itself “a National Socialist newsletter”; its logo shows Nazi banners on Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, and one recent post features a racist caricature of a Chinese person. A Substack called White-Papers, bearing the tagline “Your pro-White policy destination,” is one of several that openly promote the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that inspired deadly mass shootings at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, synagogue; two Christchurch, New Zealand, mosques; an El Paso, Texas, Walmart; and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket. "
I consider those who use Nazi imagery to be neo-Nazis. I don't call American white supremacists working today Nazis, b/c for me the term is historically specific. I'm not asking anyone to agree with me. But people are now using "Nazi" to describe a range of ideologies and I am not clear how they are defining it. That's what confuses me (would they call Rufo a Nazi or an American right wing extremist? What about the many Trumpists who published books with the Big Five? Should I include them in my list or not?
I am striving to discuss this in good faith with you. I hope you can do the same for me.
I appreciate your thoughts. I am new to Substack as a reader and have started the process to become a writer. But I am struggling with Substack's lack of obligation to its own rules and wimpy free speech defense of its failure to moderate. And was even more upset to see them actually promote one of the worst on their site in a podcast.
I have looked at Medium and Ghost but it seems to lack the "good-feels" community that I have found on each writer's stack. I am in limbo.
I have to agree with everything here. And beyond all this, who has the time to move? For the majority of us here, running a newsletter is not our main source of income.
PS I’m staying. At least for now. It’s a mix of desperation and defiance keeping me here. I’ll be damned if I’ll cede my ground or forfeit what has become my livelihood for a handful of bigots.
Question for the author, who knows more about the history of literature. When has long-form writing been the vehicle to radicalization?
Few people had actually read A.H.'s Mein Kampf. It was an artifact to display, it sounds like, that served as a cultural signifier. A loss-leader project to make his name as well known as that of his contemporary over in Italy. (... OTOH Benito M. made his name first as a journalist...)
Darn it, I need to read the Atlantic piece about this uproar, it seems, after postponing it as long as I have.
A recommendation... I “found” you via a recommendation from another Substack, and have a free subscription. But I can’t get a feel for whether I should spring for a paid subscription because whenever I check out a post, it is only for paying subscribers. You might want to consider offering some additional free content as part of your “sale” so that people can see if the content is something they want to read on a paid basis.
These have been my thoughts exactly. I considered moving to Ghost back when Substack launched Notes, but as a tiny indie creator I can’t afford the fees right now. I see
a lot of outrage, but not a lot of alternatives. 🤷
As usual you are spot on.
Publishers certainly publish 'right-wingers', as you say - but do they publish outright, open Nazis, which is the matter at stake in this Substack case? (Perhaps they do! You'd know better than I. But I'd be quite surprised.)
Eliding the two is convenient if you wish to argue the opposition to Substack is a bit over-blown (as you do), but it's also dishonest.
"Not enough information about alternatives."
There are dozens of guides and discussions, they're not difficult to find.
1. Buttondown: https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-migrate-newsletter-substack-to-buttondown/
2. Convertkit: https://sarahmoon.net/substack-alternative/
3. Ghost: https://ghost.org/vs/substack/ and https://ghost.org/docs/migration/substack/
4. Beehiiv: https://blog.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-migrate-from-substack-to-beehiiv
..."articulated how such a move would not hurt the wages of the common Substack-worker."
Perhaps it does hurt people's incomes - but if you're not willing to follow your principles because of minor cost or personal inconvenience, they're not really principles, are they - just pablum.
For anyone seeking a more substantial discussion on this topic, I'd recommend the comments on Platformer.
https://www.platformer.news/p/why-substack-is-at-a-crossroads/comments
Yes, there are certainly guides for the technical switch.
There is less information about the parallel policies of these companies, or the costs to writers who switch.
HarperCollins publishes Richard Hanania: https://www.harpercollins.com/collections/books-by-richard-hanania-55030) and Christopher Rufo: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/americas-cultural-revolution-christopher-f-rufo?variant=40717845528610. I expect some of those protesting Substack also publish with Harper.
I expect it would not be hard to find more examples. The definition of "Nazi" confuses me. To me, it refers to a particular political party. If we want to extend it to white supremacists and those who support the great replacement theory, we could find more examples of people from both the "Nazi" and "against Nazis" groups who share a publisher.
I'm not sure why you're confused.
You have read Jonathan M. Katz's original piece in the Atlantic 'Substack Has a Nazi Problem' (28 November), in which he writes:
"At least 16 of the newsletters that I reviewed have overt Nazi symbols, including the swastika and the sonnenrad, in their logos or in prominent graphics. Andkon’s Reich Press, for example, calls itself “a National Socialist newsletter”; its logo shows Nazi banners on Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, and one recent post features a racist caricature of a Chinese person. A Substack called White-Papers, bearing the tagline “Your pro-White policy destination,” is one of several that openly promote the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that inspired deadly mass shootings at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, synagogue; two Christchurch, New Zealand, mosques; an El Paso, Texas, Walmart; and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket. "
That seems pretty unambiguous to me.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/substack-extremism-nazi-white-supremacy-newsletters/676156/
I consider those who use Nazi imagery to be neo-Nazis. I don't call American white supremacists working today Nazis, b/c for me the term is historically specific. I'm not asking anyone to agree with me. But people are now using "Nazi" to describe a range of ideologies and I am not clear how they are defining it. That's what confuses me (would they call Rufo a Nazi or an American right wing extremist? What about the many Trumpists who published books with the Big Five? Should I include them in my list or not?
I am striving to discuss this in good faith with you. I hope you can do the same for me.
I appreciate your thoughts. I am new to Substack as a reader and have started the process to become a writer. But I am struggling with Substack's lack of obligation to its own rules and wimpy free speech defense of its failure to moderate. And was even more upset to see them actually promote one of the worst on their site in a podcast.
I have looked at Medium and Ghost but it seems to lack the "good-feels" community that I have found on each writer's stack. I am in limbo.
I have to agree with everything here. And beyond all this, who has the time to move? For the majority of us here, running a newsletter is not our main source of income.
This resonates, Anne. Btw, Casey Newton is talking to Stripe, which he says has some kind of anti hate speech policy.
PS I’m staying. At least for now. It’s a mix of desperation and defiance keeping me here. I’ll be damned if I’ll cede my ground or forfeit what has become my livelihood for a handful of bigots.
Thanks, Sari