@thomasfuchs I think it should also be noted that this is not new. They've literally been using Nazi-adjacent folks to help boost awareness that the platform exists since launch, and I've been screaming into the void about it for years.
ugh I can't find it right now but several years ago there was a great writeup of all the hard "alt right" people who substack had reached out to and were funding out of their investment money to make the platform seem like a good earning opportunity for writers.
It was before they had enough paying users to actually have anyone be able to self-sustain by writing there.
To the question "who do we want to represent success on our platform" they answered nazi "sympathizers"
OH, !! I found it.
https://thehypothesis.substack.com/p/heres-why-substacks-scam-worked-so
Early 2021 article. Wish it had gotten more attention back then.
Substack has been intentionally aiming to be a Nazi bar from the start.
As @Popehat observes, it's a marketing decision.
https://popehat.substack.com/p/substack-has-a-nazi-opportunity
That disingenuous apologia for being a Nazi bar by McKenzie@Substack is either severe ignorance on his part, or overt propaganda and gaslighting. Yeah, yeah, he's not suffering from such ignorance; this is deliberate.
@tab2space @Popehat @OliverUv And for good measure he throws in the canard about free speech only being a government thing.