This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating.
-
The word is used so much it literally has no meaning, no one gives a fuck and if you don't like it, don't read it or pay for it. In 2024 Substack claimed to have banned 5 "Nazi" blogs (whatever the fuck that means) but they didn't mention which ones and I can't find any actual information on it, so it might have been a fake PR-stunt. I would like to know what those sites actually were and see the archives to decide for myself.
But I decided from that point I would never pay for something on Substack because they either censored some sites or created a fake censorship story as some PR stunt. Both are stupid.
But personally, I want to read the books everyone else wants to burn.
I followed that.
Some people were publicly upset that "terfs" were "platformed" on Substack. Then lo and behold shortly after, rumors started screaming about "Nazis".
Substack took it seriously, and did an investigation and found 5 accounts with no subscribers which were white supremacist.
I took note of which accounts signed the petition to investigate the Nazis, and unsubscribed from their stacks (I'm only a free subscriber anyway). I don't need to read the gullible.
-
The word is used so much it literally has no meaning, no one gives a fuck and if you don't like it, don't read it or pay for it. In 2024 Substack claimed to have banned 5 "Nazi" blogs (whatever the fuck that means) but they didn't mention which ones and I can't find any actual information on it, so it might have been a fake PR-stunt. I would like to know what those sites actually were and see the archives to decide for myself.
But I decided from that point I would never pay for something on Substack because they either censored some sites or created a fake censorship story as some PR stunt. Both are stupid.
But personally, I want to read the books everyone else wants to burn.
@djsumdog It's easy to see how it's a slippery slope to them just removing whatever they want whenever they want, but people like @ben are so used to it only being things they agree with, that they cheerlead it. We've seen what happens when the people wearing the boot stopped respecting the tongue on the laces in Minneapolis, but some people aren't able to come to the conclusion that enabling paternalistic powers-that-be can come back to hurt them, unfortunately. -
For people who want alternatives, Ghost is a Substack-style platform that doesn't host Nazis. Its software is free open source so you can self-host if you prefer, or use Ghost's own paid hosting service.
Ghost also has Fediverse compatibility so people can follow your Ghost blog or newsletter directly from Mastodon etc. More info at https://fedi.tips/ghost-blogs-and-newsletters-on-the-fediverse/
@FediThing @ben I ended up using buttondown and I like it so far! Substack is also WILDLY expensive with their massive 10% cut.
-
This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating. Substack hosts, profits from, and promotes explicitly Nazi content, and if you are adding value to that network, you are helping them to do so. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters
@ben
And even worse, it seems that my email address as I was subscribed to a feed there was given out to someone else on Substack who subscribed me to theirs, unashamedly admitting that this was how they got hold of me. I didn't know t this was a thing.
I was following Mike Elgin, Julia Doubleday, Eric Topol, Nate Bear, @erictopol etc.
Why are they on there? -
@ben might be the first time it's been documented in a national newspaper though
@mewsleah That’s probably true!
-
This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating. Substack hosts, profits from, and promotes explicitly Nazi content, and if you are adding value to that network, you are helping them to do so. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters
@molly0xfff wrote this “How I Set Up on Ghost” guide: https://www.citationneeded.news/substack-to-self-hosted-ghost/
-
@ben I don't have a fricking clue why people who claim to be all in for democracy and antifascism *choose* to put their information on Substack. I also don't understand why people need it proven--repeatedly--that Substack is a Nazi platform that has gotten *more* Nazi accounts since it was publicized that they hosted them. But here we are!
Good luck with the monetization, kids. (Spoiler: the scam has an expiration date, like all of the others.)
@ben @dnkboston
One person who is an independent reporter didn't know anything about this, when I left a comment saying I was going to need to unsubscribe. -
@ben @dnkboston
One person who is an independent reporter didn't know anything about this, when I left a comment saying I was going to need to unsubscribe.@notyourfanboy That's incredible to me. It's pretty well-publicized, and isn't a journalist supposed to be up on the latest news? @ben
-
For people who want alternatives, Ghost is a Substack-style platform that doesn't host Nazis. Its software is free open source so you can self-host if you prefer, or use Ghost's own paid hosting service.
Ghost also has Fediverse compatibility so people can follow your Ghost blog or newsletter directly from Mastodon etc. More info at https://fedi.tips/ghost-blogs-and-newsletters-on-the-fediverse/
@FediThing @ben ghost isn’t free as far as I see?
-
@FediThing @ben ghost isn’t free as far as I see?
It's free open source software (i.e. anyone can install, edit and release their own version) and the software itself is free of charge.
But you still have to pay the costs of hosting, either on Ghost.org or on your own server if you're self-hosting.
-
@notyourfanboy That's incredible to me. It's pretty well-publicized, and isn't a journalist supposed to be up on the latest news? @ben
@dnkboston @notyourfanboy @ben
If they can get away with feigning ignorance to save face, they will.
-
It's free open source software (i.e. anyone can install, edit and release their own version) and the software itself is free of charge.
But you still have to pay the costs of hosting, either on Ghost.org or on your own server if you're self-hosting.
@FediThing ah, ok. That isn’t clear on the website. Makes sense. @ben
-
@FediThing ah, ok. That isn’t clear on the website. Makes sense. @ben
Ah sorry, I should have phrased it a bit better in my post too. I've edited it to make it clearer.
-
@dnkboston @notyourfanboy @ben
If they can get away with feigning ignorance to save face, they will.
@Jorsh Ding ding ding ding ding @notyourfanboy @ben
-
Ah sorry, I should have phrased it a bit better in my post too. I've edited it to make it clearer.
-
@FediThing @ben I think I tried it on unohost. setting it up is a bit of a strugle, it seems worth it however.
-
@notyourfanboy That's incredible to me. It's pretty well-publicized, and isn't a journalist supposed to be up on the latest news? @ben
@ben @dnkboston
Let me rephrase that.A journalist, who I'm sure doesn't make a living at it, who covers injustice in prisons in their State, who posts once or twice a month to their substack account hadn't heard about the platform hosting Nazis.
-
This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating. Substack hosts, profits from, and promotes explicitly Nazi content, and if you are adding value to that network, you are helping them to do so. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters
@ben I wonder what @MikeElgan thinks. He's still so bullish on Substack.
-
This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating. Substack hosts, profits from, and promotes explicitly Nazi content, and if you are adding value to that network, you are helping them to do so. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters
@ben This is the main reason why I don't pay for more subscriptions to Journalists that I want to support! They're on Substack. @MikeElgan is one of them. If he moved from Substack to Ghost, Beehiiv, I'd sub right away.
Hear that Mike!
-
It's free open source software (i.e. anyone can install, edit and release their own version) and the software itself is free of charge.
But you still have to pay the costs of hosting, either on Ghost.org or on your own server if you're self-hosting.
@FediThing @miekeroth @ben
As I always note when this comes up, @JuliusGoat made the switch to ghost from substack and wrote about it here
