Substack is back in the news again for the wrong reason: this time, the platform sent a push notification to a neo-Nazi newsletter featuring a swastika logo. Here's Substack cofounder and CEO Chris Best on Decoder two years ago struggling to answer a question about moderating hate speech.
“We have terms of service… I’m not going to get into what may or may not violate terms of service..”
If it was about speech, he would say, "I hate Nazis and everything they stand for, but I can't ban them because I am a free speech absolutist." It would be an idiotic but coherent position. Refusing to even say "I hate Nazis" means this guy likes Nazis, and that's why he has them on his platform.
People who hate Nazis have already left or are leaving Substack. All that remain are Nazis or people who are okay with Nazis. Substack is a Nazi bar.
I remember this interview because of how concerning his answers (or lack thereof) were
Bigotry and hateful rhetoric isn’t what it’s all about ..right?…no no “it’s bigotry and hatred””🤮🤮
I only knew Nilay as a tech review (a quite good one), but apparently he's also a damn good interviewer and doesn't put up with bullshit. Too many people would just accept his first non-answer and move on. Well done.
@friendspersecond.bsky.social I believe you're still using substack, I'd urge you to reconsider using their platform. Stand against racism
@skillup.bsky.social @lucyjames.games @jakebaldino.com
Swastack
The American Psychiatric Association has never officially recognized extreme racism (vs. ordinary prejudice) as a mental health problem arguing that because so many Americans are racist, even extreme racism in this country is normative—a cultural problem rather than an indication of psychopathology.
Racism is an inherited not by genetics, but by cultural associations, but it is inherited nonetheless.
To continue perceiving extreme racism as normative and not pathologic is to lend it legitimacy. Clearly, anyone who scapegoats a whole group of people and seeks to eliminate them to resolve his or her internal conflicts meets criteria for a delusional disorder, a major psychiatric illness.
That’s the problem, it has been normal for all of human history, along with greed, and many other uniquely human traits. Is it pathological?, most certainly, but it is also so common that it makes up a large part of who we are: a slightly more intelligent animal species.
No argument.... the question is "why".
As a species we are less than 5 million years old, I think that humans are in their teen years anthropologically speaking, old enough to cause a great deal of damage to ourselves and others, but lacking the foresight to change our behavior. We’re children with no adult supervision.
@reckless.bsky.social has balls 👏
@caioalmendra.bsky.social @anarcofino.bsky.social @sabrinafernandes.bsky.social @vieneinpace.bsky.social @sk-serge.bsky.social @simplificacine.bsky.social
Mas rapaz, fui bloqueado.
well my respect for nilay patel just went through the roof
YIKES.
I get that immigration is a difficult subject with lots of nuances... But racism certainly is not one of those subjects that has nuances.
I like the bit where he started buffering
I love that Nilay was just like, you know you just fucked up, right? They don't care if Nazis use their platform. It's that simple. Your response should be to stop using their platform to show that you do not support them doing that. That's also simple. I know some say it is not, but it kinda is.
This is why I strongly dislike black box/engagement algorithms. This could have been intentional. It could have been bad design. We’ll never really know. We can say for certain it’s negligent and unacceptable, though.
It doesn't matter if the push notif was intentional or not; it wouldn't be a problem if Substack weren't actively catering to Nazis. & this video shows that has been their plan from the beginning. The unacceptable part isn't "oops ppl got a bad notif". It's the Nazis being there in the 1st place.
If you're going to have an absolutist free speech policy you should at least be able to defend it articulately. This is as awkward as it gets.
We are definitely finding out how it would have been in the 1930's ... adjusted for tech of today. It's surprising, but also isn't, how many are ok with anything for money.
$ub$tack like$ all kind$ of $peech
@reckless.bsky.social your interview is incredible. I can't believe I'm only seeing it now. Please don't ever let these scumbags off the hook. Decency, respect, equality and tolerance is not optional. #substack #chrisbest
@zeteo.com @mehdirhasan.bsky.social I know its nearly impossible to find a silicone valley app that isnt overtly racist at this point… But if you can find one to use other than Substack…
Does it all come down to that they don't want to do content moderation because it costs money and this incidentally aligns them with right wing extremists?
As long as we tolerate an oligarchy, money will always have the final say.
@mrjamesob.bsky.social oh boy
Awesome interview. Thank you for pushing him hard on this.
Related: Got email from @change.org promoting a petition in NJ that sneakily pushes to remove flags that support LGBTQ students under the guise of “promoting unity.” It’s coddling of parents who don’t want schools to undermine the bigotry they teach at home. Not linking to it.
I'm not a huge fan of how the Verge changed under Nilay's leadership, but this interview is a great example for journalists to follow. Make these techno-fascists squirm. Put them on the spot. Make them justify their bullshit on the record. When they are out of line, ROAST THEM to their faces.
Can you elaborate on what has changed? I thought Nilay was a founder, and to me, it seems like the quality has been pretty consistent.
Let's just say I enjoyed the site much more under the leadership of Josh Topolsky during the first 4 or 5 years. The regime changes at the Verge have always come with stylistic choices I don't enjoy. The hostility to anyone that didn't slob their knobs after the redesign was the last straw. 🤷♂️
Way to hold people accountable!
Pure capitalists. $$ before humanity.
this moment of silence after Nilay states "that's your job" is so unintentionally hilarious
I don't often care too much when I see The Verge articles on here. But Nilay's drilling down here makes me more inclined to actually peruse the site. Thanks for posting this.
Another cesspool.
Listen to the full episode here: bit.ly/4ovzA91
Shit happens
Chris Best only cares about MONEY.
Damn. Well, I’ve seen enough. The host gave Best multiple chances to answer the question and he refused. No substack for me. I hope everyone on substack right now decides to walk soon. Less normalization of Nazis please.
That is quite literally the worst response to any question I’ve ever seen. And Trump just willingly said his young girls were being stolen by his pal Epstein.
You know your company has a problem with the executive team has had communication training on how to not address their little fascism problem. Kudos to Nilay for really hitting home with this and not giving up. Companies like Substack and Shopify need to be shamed for their fascist behaviour.
"The way that we think about this" About what dude? HITLER lovers? It is easy how to think about it "We are ashamed of platforming fascists and they have no place on our platform". None of this fancy lad stepping around it. I hope they get banned in Germany for this BS.