Substack hosts diverse voices including writers from marginalized communities, and many successful newsletters focus on social justice, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ issues. However, the platform's refusal to comprehensively ban Nazi and white-supremacist content led to a second wave of writer departures in early 2025. Writers cited growing concerns over political extremism following Trump's inauguration. The company has not implemented proactive content moderation.
#227 on the board
D
Substack
CompanyConcerning38/100low confidence · 3 issues
1 opposed2 mixed
Newsletter publishing platform.
The receipts (3)
In November 2023, reporter Jonathan Katz identified at least 16 newsletters with Nazi imagery on Substack. Nearly 250 writers petitioned the company to clarify its stance. In January 2024, major newsletter Platformer left the platform, with founder Casey Newton saying they could no longer "stay in good conscience." Substack removed five publications but defended hosting other extremist content. In July 2025, Substack sent users a push notification promoting a National Socialist newsletter, calling it a "serious system error."