Yesterday Substack reached unicorn status (1 billion dollar valuation). Yes, Substack, the publishing equivalent of a Nazi bar.
2 months ago I collected evidence of what the lack of moderation does: putting unchecked racism, antisemitism & fatphobia out in the open.
I collected evidence but I'm not the right person to air this. Do you have recommendations re: bloggers / journalists who might be interested?
Update: I just wrote to Jason at 404 Media 💁♀️
In my earlier toot I cited "overt racism and antisemitism" but the screenshots I gathered - posts by a very popular account with zero moderation - also include:
- homophobia
- misogyny
- dangerous misinformation around health issues
and so much unchecked hatred. The list could go on and on...
1 billion dollar valuation for a company with zero content moderation is very problematic.
I need to check if my reports of abuse were followed up on (terribly racist comments I had found). Ugh.
Update no.2:
No, Substack did not moderate the comments I had reported. They are still up. How bad are they? So bad they make my stomach turn. One in particular - terribly racist and with 6 likes by other users - haunted me for days.
And:
I just wrote to Jason at 404 Media with links to the problematic posts and unmoderated comments. Let's see. (Longtime fan of @404mediaco here)
They allow hate speech and dangerous misinformation to circulate.
Most criticism of Substack I have seen is theoretical ("lack of moderation") but when you see the evidence of the problematic content, you get a real visceral reaction.
It's about time journalists covered that. Not me, actual journalists. This needs to be out there and not normalized or swept under the rug
@Lioh that's my point. I don't want it to be normalized. What kind of message does this send to the groups affected? And to children and young adults?
Sorry but I want my daughter to grow up in a world where hate speech is reined in and deemed unacceptable.
If you need help moving, I could offer advice about Ghost (Ghost itself has a concierge service for this)
Substack appears more than happy to profit from harm and hate.
"[...] Substack's refusal to tackle misinformation and hate speech is still happening. Writers are publicly speaking out about leaving Substack or calling out the company's policies when it comes to free speech, content moderation, and censorship."
🌐https://mashable.com/article/substack-writers-leaving-misinformation
I came upon something by accident (because I quit it a long time ago) and I was shocked (SHOCKED I tell you!) about the rhetoric on Substack. Commenters show unabashed racism and homophobia... and there's dangerous misinformation around health stuff.
I reported some terrible, stomach-turning comments... and they are still up
🧡 Thank you for doing your part in reporting unacceptable online content! That is more than most folks would do.
(I work for a NGO in the US. We prevent violence against adolescents. Online content causes harm in many ways.)
Hopefully Substack has taken appropriate action by now.
If not, there might be some other options for reporting the content. This guidance from the Let's STOP Hate Speech group, funded by the EU might be helpful:
🌐https://absbg.eu/en/european-commission-combating-hate-speech-and-hate-crime/
#hatespeech #substack #misinformation #racism #publichealth #media
I came upon this evidence completely by accident and going down a rabbit hole of evidence gathering really shook me to my core.
The stuff that's allowed on there is unimaginable. And people are so emboldened they even use their real names
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