SF’s Substack execs shrug at accusation they profit from Nazis

Substack has a Nazi problem — but they’re not planning to do anything about it, according to co-founder Hamish McKenzie. 

Dozens of neo-Nazis publish newsletters on the platform, as highlighted in a recent Atlantic article. That includes Richard Spencer, who helped organize 2017’s deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and now makes thousands of dollars a year from his Substack newsletter. The latest round of Nazi-related publicity prompted more than 200 Substack writers to sign an open letter calling on the San Francisco company’s leadership to stop platforming — and profiting from — hate speech. 

In response, McKenzie posted a note on the platform Thursday that made it clear he and his co-founders will continue to allow the publication of Nazi content on their site. 

“I just want to make it clear that we don’t like Nazis either — we wish no-one held those views,” the co-founder wrote. “But some people do hold those and other extreme views. Given that, we don’t think that censorship (including through demonetizing publications) makes the problem go away—in fact, it makes it worse.”

Research has found that “de-platforming” extreme voices does help the platforms that ban them, but can prod fringe influencers to become more toxic.

Substack executives have repeatedly balked at the idea of restricting either inflammatory speech or disinformation. In April, The Verge asked Substack CEO Chris Best if the platform would allow a post saying that brown people should be kicked out of the country. He responded that he was “not going to engage in content moderation.” In 2022, Best spoke at a Wall Street Journal conference held shortly after Dave Chapelle’s comments brought a storm of complaints about transphobia to Netflix. “Dave, if you’re listening, come to Substack,” Best said on stage, according to Vanity Fair.

Substack’s content policy does ban some hate-related publishing, including “content or fund initiatives that incite violence based on protected classes,” although it primarily focuses on “credible threats of physical harm,” rather than the broader standards enforced by many other publishers and social media sites. The newsletter platform also bans explicit sex-related content. It takes a cut of every paid subscription, including those containing hate speech, a fact pointed out in the open letter, which was made public on Dec. 14. It has garnered 247 reposts and signatures as of Thursday morning.

“From our perspective as Substack publishers, it is unfathomable that someone with a swastika avatar, who writes about ‘The Jewish question,’ or who promotes Great Replacement Theory, could be given the tools to succeed on your platform,” the letter reads. It has been signed by many popular Substack writers, including Lyz Lenz, whose “Men Yell at Me” Substack has over 40,000 subscribers, and the staff of “discourse blog,” which has an audience of 14,000 subscribers.

Substack’s continuing to host and profit from Nazism has prompted a number of writers to look for other platforms, a fact referenced in the letter. “Is platforming Nazis part of your vision of success? ,” the writers ask. “Let us know—from there we can each decide if this is still where we want to be.” 

Hear of anything happening at Substack or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at [email protected] or on Signal at 628-204-5452.