About a year ago, author and professor at the University of Berkeley Grace Lavery Accepted A six-figure deal from the substackUnder the newsletter platform Pro Scheme. In late January of this year, Livery decided to leave the platform, “late” Termination of contractual relationship and closure of his account.
“I’ve never been under any illusions why a literary scholar specializing in Victorian literature and psychoanalysis was offered so much money by a tech startup,” she wrote. Post on his blog.. “That’s because I’m a trans woman, and about a year ago, Substack faced public criticism for publishing a number of writers who were critical of the trans civil rights movement.”
Lavery admits that of the substack Publisher’s Agreement insisted that users not use the platform “in a manner that is deceptive, fraudulent, threatening, abusive, harassing,” but wrote, “I no longer believe that Substack’s executive team will implement Terms of Useeither or Content Guidelines. Because I don’t believe the platform will enforce its rules, I’m leaving.”
His move comes after a long trail of transphobic incidents on the substack. Lavery is now a part of it. Exodus of Substack AuthorsToo much to think of it as a home for users to express transphobic comments and monetize such views (notably, Lavery herself was Twitter was suspended last month.saying he hoped the Queen would die when she was diagnosed with Covid-19).
Such a collective reaction to Substack’s refusal to deal with misinformation and hate speech is still happening. Authors are publicly speaking out about leaving Substack or calling out company policies when it comes to free speech, content moderation and censorship.
It first happened in 2021, when trans writers were involved. Jude Allison Sadie Doyle, Nathan TanksAnd That is The substack was called in the wake of the platform’s refusal to remove harmful content. I One last post on the substack Before leaving for a non-profit publishing platform the ghost, Doyle wrote that Substack has co-opted “platform hate groups.” Meanwhile, Yanni wrote, “I don’t believe Substack will protect me or other trans people from harassment or abuse.”
This kind of hateful content is produced by people like the British author. Graham Linehan, who posted derogatory harassment, transphobic remarks, and hate speech against Lavery and others through his Substake newsletter. Linehan was. Twitter was permanently shut down. in 2020 for “repeated violations of our rules against hateful conduct and platform manipulation.” However, it remains on the substack with thousands of paid subscribers.
The substack itself Published a post Around this time, it doubled down on its “hands-off philosophy” on content moderation, saying that writers and readers on Substack are “in charge” of what they say and who they subscribe to. . “Authors own their content and their mailing lists and have full editorial control over the substack. Readers choose which authors to invite into their inboxes and into their minds,” the post read. It highlighted the ideas in Substack’s. Content Moderation Guidelines: that the platform is “different from social media platforms,” with writers being paid by readers, who, in turn, “have complete control over what they see.”
In January 2022, Mashable reported on substack newsletters promoting anti-vaccine sentiment and COVID-19 misinformation, including authors such as Dr. Joseph Mercola, Steve Kirsch, and Alex Berenson, each of whom Known for publishing false information about an epidemic. House on the substack after being done Deployed elsewhere.. “The reason I chose a paid membership platform over Substack is because it will protect all my content from censorship.” wrote To start your own newsletter on the platform.
After this report, substack later Published a post through your company’s newsletter.Written by CEO Chris Best and co-founders Jiraj Sethi and Hamish McKenzie. He described the “increasing pressure” he faces to censor content that “some people find suspicious or objectionable.”
“We believe that when you use censorship to silence certain voices or push them elsewhere, you don’t eliminate the problem of misinformation but you make the problem of mistrust worse. are.”
The founders added that they will continue to empower both readers and writers, and will “take a strong stand in defense of free speech.”
The tweet may have been deleted.
This post was, for Lavery, the tipping point and driving force behind his eventual decision to leave Substack.
She tells Mashable that her complaints about Linehan via email were “taken seriously” by Substack’s content moderation team, but they insisted that “his behavior approved the terms of use. ” “It seems really weird,” Lavery said, referring to the difference between free speech and harassment [Substack] It is not willing to make a difference.”
K. Tempest BradfordA writer and teacher also left Substake this year in similar protest.
“By not moderating, substacks aren’t creating more trust, they’re fostering an environment that’s unsafe for marginalized, vulnerable people,” she tells Mashable. Bradford says Substack’s statement in January wasn’t the catalyst for his decision, but it “definitely reinforced” that he made the right decision for himself.
“It’s irresponsible, especially at this stage of the Internet,” she says.
Similarly, Kristen HahnJournalists and activists based in Singapore were among the writers who left the platform. Han writes a newsletter on substack about politics, civil society and social justice in Singapore. He was too Recipient of the grant From the company in April 2020. But he left the substack last year (moved the ghost, too), citing transphobia on the substack and even raising concerns directly with the company about Linehan’s content. This past year, he has also used Twitter to call out the company’s hands-off approach to COVID misinformation and content moderation on Substack.
“Stakeholders and tech companies must be transparent, thoughtful about their responsibilities to work with civil society,” she says.
Like Bradford, Hahn tells Mashable that Substack has a responsibility to “do more moderation,” especially since some hate speech newsletters are “reaching mass” and monetizing. are
Many newsletter writers passing along misinformation and repeating transphobic views are among paid users of Substack. Authors using the subscription model include Linehan, Mercola, Berenson, and Kirsch. Have paid creators. 90 percent of incomeWhile the substack holds ten. It’s an attractive proposition: the platform offered is sleek, efficient, and potentially financially rewarding.
According to Center for Countering Digital Hat (CCDH), Substake has collected at least $2.5 million in revenue each year due to anti-vaccine newsletters. Mercola and Berenson are the main contributors to that income, making “a combined $183,000 a month,” the non-profit NGO said.
And, despite the reaction of the band of authors and users, Substack has increased the overall number: the company received more than 35 million views in January 2022 alone, According to a similar web. Substack has over 1 million paid subscriptions to publications, According to the companyand the top 10 paid publications on the platform “gross more than $20 million annually.”
Lavery, Hahn, and Bradford all seem to agree that the financial benefits writers—who spread hurt and hate—are reaping from Substack, fuel their dissatisfaction with the company. Such numbers added to Bradford’s counterargument against leaving, she says: “the revelation that the company paid some writers a salary to publish their newsletter through Substack.”
Hahn appreciates the argument that substack leaders are making.
“I understand that this is a complex issue. I have a desire to protect and defend freedom of expression and to be a platform for free speech. This is an issue that I work on a lot in Singapore. [Substack] were not discriminating enough and upfront about their responsibilities. If what is being spread is false, it is not free speech. I don’t feel comfortable establishing that false equation,” Hahn says.
Lavery also expresses “some kind of sympathy” with Substack.
“If they are found to have editorial control over any part of their platform, they will lose their business degree — it will fall to the floor,” she says. “The moment they do that, they stop being publishers, and they start being publications.”
When reached for comment, a Substack representative told Mashable that they “respect the author’s decision as to where they want to publish their work,” which is why they package the Substack newsletter and Cleanly “simplifies” migration to other platforms.
“Whenever writers leave the platform, it’s worthless. We believe in freedom of the press and freedom of expression, and we will continue our hands-off approach to content moderation,” he said.
The tweet may have been deleted.
Notably, there are those who criticize Substack but continue to use the platform. Kent Anderson, a former publisher science From the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Publishing Director New England Journal of Medicine, has been Substack users since 2018, via their newsletter geyser. He has been outspoken about the presence of misinformation on the platform.
“I am familiar with the founders. [of Substack]Anderson says, and interviewed him for The Gazer, where he describes Substack as an alternative to disinformation platforms and dedicated to the truth. He believes he has since “abandoned” his position.
“When you enter the information space, you have a duty to care whether the information you are providing is accurate or not, as to what the reader is basing what you are saying. But what do you think or believe, about your credibility and integrity in the community,” says Anderson. “This is for everyone involved, including platform providers.” He added that the substack was adding to “a vicious cycle” of misinformation and mistrust.
Anderson hasn’t given up on Substack yet, but tells Mashable he’s “looking at options and alternatives,” continuing to stick with the platform for now.
For many, the allure that substacks can offer isn’t enough to sway some decisions. Hahn tells Mashable, “In a way, [leaving] worked out. Before all of that, though, I was happy with the substack.”
Credit : mashable.com
