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In fact, it is useful and important to look at this question not through the lens of persuasion but the lens of power.
Emphasis added.
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With respect to a friend who works there, this is why I am not publishing on Substack. I’ve had a number of people ask why I don’t simply publish there, letting my pieces pop up in their inboxes and allowing me to potentially generate income. The central answer is that I don’t think Substack uses its power responsibly.
The company has done a good job creating tools that make it easy to publish. A number of well-regarded journalists use those tools and have built their personal brands by doing so. I certainly don’t begrudge them doing so. But they have done so while sharing that growth with Substack, a company that intentionally provides a voice to white nationalist and Nazi propaganda. They have transferred their power to a company that has used it to promote toxic rhetoric in the guise of “having a debate.”
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Even if they worked perfectly, Substack and Twitter/X only accrue power over the long term for Substack and X.