Newsletter platform Substack has taken down five publications containing incitements to violence following pressure from users and a campaign led by influential writers critical of its handling of Nazi and white supremacist content. The Atlantic reported in November that Nazi and white supremacist writers were utilising Substack to establish subscription-based businesses.

The decision comes after a review found the publications violated Substack's content rules, with the platform pledging to enhance reporting tools and user moderation. The move responds to a growing rebellion among writers concerned about lax content enforcement on the platform.

Substack, founded in 2017, is a popular platform for independent writers, offering an easy way to create and monetize email newsletters with a 10% fee. It features diverse writers, including political journalists and historians.

Why does it matter?

While the company emphasized that its recent action doesn't indicate a shift in its stance but rather a reassessment of policy interpretation, it clarified that the new interpretation won't proactively target neo-Nazis or far-right extremism. Substack will still remove content involving credible threats of physical harm. However, Platformer, a tech news outlet, expressed concerns about Substack features. The personalised weekly digest and Notes, a text-based social feed, can inadvertently boost fringe publications and offer increased visibility and promotion to extremists.