Do you have a sense among kidlit writers on Substack about this Nazi issue? I see all the people who posted this letter, but not sure what they doing now that Substack has answered these concerns by saying they will not commit to removing pro-Nazi material and that hate speech on the platform remains eligible for promotion in Notes, its weekly email digest, and other algorithmically ranked surfaces. I'm trying to figure out whether to stay or go and just wanting to connect with others.
Mary, this is a great question/ongoing concern. I don't have a handle on others' responses yet, nor have I decided what I'm going to do about my Substack yet. I have created an export of my data while I'm trying to wade through what, exactly, Substack is (and is not) doing in terms of response. I am underwhelmed-yet-also-relieved at them doing the bare minimum, at least--https://www.platformer.news/substack-says-it-will-remove-nazi/ so I do remain hopeful that they will learn as they grow, whether I remain on here or not. Then again, I'm still technically on Twitter--as Barack Obama is--and haven't completely decided what I want to do there, either. I do believe in free speech--and, simultaneously, I do believe we, as children's creators, have certain responsibilities with who we do business with. So these are important things to be thinking about, for sure. I am sorry to be still pondering, myself!
HI Elayne,
Do you have a sense among kidlit writers on Substack about this Nazi issue? I see all the people who posted this letter, but not sure what they doing now that Substack has answered these concerns by saying they will not commit to removing pro-Nazi material and that hate speech on the platform remains eligible for promotion in Notes, its weekly email digest, and other algorithmically ranked surfaces. I'm trying to figure out whether to stay or go and just wanting to connect with others.
Mary, this is a great question/ongoing concern. I don't have a handle on others' responses yet, nor have I decided what I'm going to do about my Substack yet. I have created an export of my data while I'm trying to wade through what, exactly, Substack is (and is not) doing in terms of response. I am underwhelmed-yet-also-relieved at them doing the bare minimum, at least--https://www.platformer.news/substack-says-it-will-remove-nazi/ so I do remain hopeful that they will learn as they grow, whether I remain on here or not. Then again, I'm still technically on Twitter--as Barack Obama is--and haven't completely decided what I want to do there, either. I do believe in free speech--and, simultaneously, I do believe we, as children's creators, have certain responsibilities with who we do business with. So these are important things to be thinking about, for sure. I am sorry to be still pondering, myself!
Elayne,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!