Now Banning Nazis: $ubstack Reverses B$ 'Free $peech' $tand
Hitting the pocketbook works when moral appeals fail.
This is the 16th installment of the new “Axis of Genocide” series at this Zionist Substack, the successor to the “Antisemitism and Culture” series which can be read in two 30-essay collections here and here.
This new series will document and analyze the antisemitic genocidal war waged against Israel by the Hamas terrorist group and its primary supporter, the Islamic regime in Iran. The accomplices in this attempt at a second Holocaust — Vladimir Putin’s criminal-gangster state in Russia and the authoritarian regime in China — will also come in for scrutiny and loud condemnation, as will the non-state actors supporting them, particularly the international Muslim Brotherhood propaganda network, and radical activists of both the far left and the far right. Other evil states and terrorist groups will also receive scrutiny. You can find a list of previous installments at the end of this post. Thank you for your support.
I shared the sentiment below on Notes four days ago, having observed something about the prominent Substacks insisting on an “absolutist free speech” position for this website, which would allow those advocating for genocide to grow their audience and monetize their evil. This motive for denying reality further aligned with the Substack founders’ absurdly hypocritical and dishonest response to those of us who signed and republished the Substackers Against Nazis open letter. (Which I did on Dec. 14 and included as the 13th installment in this series.)
As of Monday — when news broke of Substack’s decision to reverse its previous proclamation to host and profit from Nazi content — I feel vindicated both in this analysis and in the decision to support the campaign.
Since this controversy emerged over Substack choosing to host Nazis, many of us have made a pretty simple, straightforward argument: merely being a Nazi and writing in favor of Nazism violates this site’s content guidelines regarding “incitement to violence.” To hold up a swastika flag is to say to the Jewish person, the Black person, the LGBTQ person: “I want to kill you.”
It appears now that Substack has conceded to this rather obvious argument:
Substack is removing some publications that express support for Nazis, the company said today. The company said this did not represent a reversal of its previous stance, but rather the result of reconsidering how it interprets its existing policies.
As part of the move, the company is also terminating the accounts of several publications that endorse Nazi ideology and that Platformer flagged to the company for review last week.
The company will not change the text of its content policy, it says, and its new policy interpretation will not include proactively removing content related to neo-Nazis and far-right extremism. But Substack will continue to remove any material that includes “credible threats of physical harm,” it said.
Now make no mistake, this is very much a victory. The activism inspired by the journalism of
and the organizing efforts led by has now borne fruit. And I am satisfied with this initial result - such that I have chosen to continue to host God of the Desert Books and our upcoming new imprints on this site. (I was very close to stopping our paid subscriptions and transferring our monetary operations over to Patreon, which we still may use at some point, but which now will not need to serve as a replacement.)There certainly will continue to be “problematic” Substacks which share ideas I find terrible. But I’d rather stay on here and keep a closer eye on them, reporting them when they cross the line, rather than shifting to another platform. Substack still seems to be a small enough platform that “small” people and publications can still have an influence. No such opportunity exists on Space Karen’s chaotic, failing Dead Bird Site.
But let’s be clear about why Substack made the decision it did.
Substackers Against Nazis did not persuade the heads of this site that they were making an immoral decision and failing to follow their own guidelines. We didn’t win hearts and minds here.
All that happened is that Substack realized they were in huge danger of losing lots of money. Just as big corporate brands have left Twitter (no, I will not refer to it by the new dumb name) due to their names associating with Nazis, smaller brands on Substack made the same calculation and also began to see the loss of subscribers as readers decided they didn’t want their dollars going to a company which willfully profited from genocidal antisemitic writing.
And the tipping point was in the large, influential Substack linked above -
’s Platformer. If he had not threatened to leave and then engaged directly with about it, then we’d still be in the same spot we were on Sunday.It’s that simple - money talks, boycotts can work.
What I find deeply obnoxious and outright offensive, though, is Substack’s lie that its decisions here and previously have anything to do with principles. They don’t care about “free speech” broadly — they’re not some 501(c)(3) charity advocating — they care about making money. This is a for-profit business. That’s all this is.
And in the bigger, historical picture, that’s deeply disturbing but not surprising. During the 1930s, a whole lot of large, multinational corporations made the same calculation in their choices to work with the Nazis, going so far as to even become complicit in the Holocaust.
One of the key books which most shaped my understanding of culture and economics was
’s Life Inc.: How Corporatism Conquered the World and How We Can Take It Back. In it he explains the biases built into corporations since they emerged out of the monarchy-chartered monopolies of the Middle Ages, like the East India Company.Corporations are not the same thing as private businesses owned by individuals. Laws and contractual requirements built into their charters prevent them from operating like one person who owns their business outright. While an individual can choose to make long-term decisions in the operating of their business, corporations really can’t, and its not in their interest to do so. The people running each corporation aren’t planning to stay at the company for their whole careers - they’re looking to make as much money as possible and move on to another opportunity to maximize their short-term financial interests.
Those leading a corporation aren’t concerned with its health over years - like a private business owner who wants his company to support him and his family potentially for generations. The bias of the ideology of the corporation and corporate leaders — what Rushkoff calls “Corporatism” to distinguish it from conventional capitalism — is to succeed as much as possible on a quarterly basis. They want to make as much money as fast as possible — something which their annual bonuses are tied to directly.
This cognitive bias then causes them to think primarily in the moment rather than in the long-term. And that’s what
and his colleagues did. They were confronted with the Substackers Against Nazis activist demands and they chose to respond just according to their interests in the moment - which, as I kept saying, was primarily based on the reality that a proper content moderation system would be horrendously expensive, potentially destroying any and all profit.It wasn't until they saw that they were in danger of losing much more money — really destroying the whole company — that they reversed course.
And it’s worth acknowledging here that Substack is not yet a corporation - it remains a private company. However, it has been funded by significant amounts of venture capital for the same reason many other technology companies are: so that they can be fluffed up in perceived value and then sold at a massive profit to some ignorant corporation. Substack is akin to a “baby corporation.”
In highlighting the problem of antisemitism on Substack, we’re messing up the creators’ effort to make their platform appear much more valuable than it actually is so that they can cash in as soon as possible.
Activists looking to combat the Axis of Genocide and other malevolent threats to freedom need to understand the biases built into corporate structures if we are to impact their behavior. This is how corporate leaders think - money first, money fast, as much money as possible right now. It may sound obvious, but until it’s stated explicitly and explained as
does, we cannot act effectively to create change in this sad corporatist realm, which has now come to dominate not just the planet but even how many people think about themselves.And then this deeply damning news broke today:
Something went wrongYes, the “free speech” letter intended to preempt Substackers Against Nazis was manufactured by Substack leadership.
Let’s put this in honest, straightforward terms: Substack chose to create propaganda intended to obscure the reality that those who want genocide against the Jewish people were using their platform.
They weren’t upset about the Nazis themselves. They were upset about their existence being exposed. They weren’t concerned about how antisemitic speech would harm those targeted about it. They were concerned that their big payday when they sell the company would be screwed up. And they cloaked all this in free speech principles in order to intellectually and emotionally manipulate their users.
“Bullshit is the glue that binds us as a nation. Where would we be without our safe familiar, American bullshit? Land of the free, home of the brave, the American Dream, all men are equal, justice is blind, the press is free, your vote counts, business is honest… every one of those items is provably untrue at one level or another but we believe them because they're pounded into our heads from the time we're children… Nobody questions things in this country anymore. Nobody questions things. Why, people are too fat and happy, people are way too fucking prosperous for their own good, everyone's got a cell phone that'll make pancakes and rub their balls now, you know. So nobody wants to rock the boat… Americans have been silenced, bought off in silence by gizmos and toys and as a result no one's ever learned to question things.”
George Carlin, in his final HBO comedy special
The previous pieces in the “Axis of Genocide” series:
Mainstream Political Positions Argued in Extreme Ways: A Manifesto of Sorts
The Vicious Vladimir Putin Is a Disgusting Antisemite Who Is Helping Hamas
Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Conversion to the Wrong Christianity for the Wrong Reasons
A Huge Collection of Statistics That Reveals Americans' Ignorance and Moral Confusion Today
Click here to read Volume 1 of the “Antisemitism and Culture” series and volume 2 here. Ten of the most important installments from this series for better understanding this Substack’s approach to fighting hate include:
7 Reasons This Christian Hippie Became a Zealot Against Jew Hatred
2 Numbers Which Reveal the Overwhelming Level of Human Devastation Wrought by the Holocaust
7 Great Counterculture Authors Who Inspire My Writing and Zionist Activism
How to Revive King & Heschel's Black & Jewish Anti-Racism Prophetic-Activist Partnership
“ They don’t care about “free speech” broadly — they’re not some 501(c)(3) charity advocating — they care about making money. This is a for-profit business. That’s all this is.”
It must be nice to be secure in the belief both at your own values and motives are sound, and that you can state with certainty what the values and motives of others are.