#DigitalCoup

Substack is terrible - but even people who know it don't want to leave the platform – a tale in 3 acts.

Act I

Tech journalist Taylor Lorenz published a scoop a few days ago, showing how "Substack sent a push alert promoting a Nazi blog" (if you don't want to give #Substack a click, here is an alt link https://archive.ph/FTjEH).

It was a terrific and disturbing piece - kudos to her.

Act II (plot twist)

People started pointing out that Lorenz herself is using Substack as the publishing platform for her blog - which she monetizes with subscriptions. So, very ballsy move on her part to criticize the platform that she relies on to make a living, but still, some people started pointing out the incongruity of this. What about her values? Why wouldn't she move her newsletter?

Lorenz was starting to get fed up with these comments and explained on Bluesky (alt link / snapshot if you don't want to give Bluesky a click: https://archive.ph/CePll)

" Them: Get off substack
Me: Ok I set up a Patreon. The features aren’t as good but I’m willing to take a hit and do a lot more time consuming work on the back end to make it work. Here’s where you can subscribe to support me. Once enough people hop over I’ll be able to make the jump
Them: *crickets* "

She followed up that post with the comment:

" A lot of people on here want to attack and punish creators (esp women and LGBTQ ppl) for being forced to rely on certain platforms to make a living, but aren’t actually willing to support those creators in a way that allows them to leave the platforms ur so critical of them being forced to rely on. "

Fair enough.

Act III (in which I insert myself)

I don't post on Bluesky anymore but I felt compelled to resuscitate my account to point out that Substack is not only terrible, but it's also very expensive and takes the BIGGEST cut out of all other newsletter platforms.

I wrote:

" With all due respect Taylor, moving away from Substack is the ethical choice and it also makes financial sense. The great Molly White compiled a detailed breakdown of how much money creators who rely on subscriptions could save... by switching over to other platforms. "

And I linked to Molly White's brilliant post: https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/114319870485786053

I also added a link to the article by @micahflee : "Not only is Substack right-wing broligarchy garbage, it's way more expensive than Ghost" https://micahflee.com/not-only-is-substack-right-wing-broligarchy-garbage-its-way-more-expensive-than-ghost/

Lorenz responded:

"Again, I am on Patreon and have had the option to receive my newsletter directly outside of Substack since day 1. Only 3 people have ever taken me up on this. By the way I cover Substack and the only reason I got the scoop I got it from being in the platform. Hence why I’ll always have an acct"

I just replied to her that #Ghost offers a free concierge migration service (https://ghost.org/concierge/) where she could move over all her paid subscribers... and I said that IMHO she could still use Substack Notes to share her articles if she moved elsewhere... but staying on Substack and giving them 10% of her earnings feels like an implicit endorsement.

I meant that in the most empathetic way. I can understand her struggles but she has 87,000 subscribers and if she wanted to move she could simply ask for help and I'm sure people would volunteer to set her up somewhere else. If she did so on the Fediverse she'd have a self-hosted account on a VPS in less than 24 hours.

Lest you think I want to "attack and publish creators (especially women)" like in Lorenz's words on Bluesky, well, I'm a woman who started self-hosting only 6 months ago and I now run my own Ghost blog which I manually installed. It's not that unattainable.

Maybe it's just me, but I believe that the tech we use sends an important message about our values and the causes we support. Everything is politics now. Including our tech stack.

#DigitalLiteracy #DigitalCoup #A16Z #Broligarchy

"The Accelerated Construction of Techno-Authoritarian Infrastructure"

This is the first in a series of articles examining BigTech’s threats to democratic society and exploring pathways forward.

https://freeknowledge.eu/accelerated-construction-techno-authoritarian-infra

#ExtremeRight #BigTech #GAFAM #DigitalCoup #TechnoAuthoritarianism #Collapse #Resistance

A #MustWatchVideo

This is a #DigitalCoup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZOoT8AbkNE&pp=ygUaY2Fyb2xlIGNhZHdhbGxhZHIgdGVkIHRhbGs%3D

#TED May 2025

#CaroleCadwalladr : This is What A Digital Coup Looks Like

And this is a Ted talk from 5 years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSMr-3GGvQ&pp=ygUaY2Fyb2xlIGNhZHdhbGxhZHIgdGVkIHRhbGs%3D

#Broligarchs #BillionairesSUCK #ClassWar #Techfeudalism #AI #Fascism #TechFascism #GlobalFascism #PrivacyIsPower

Carole Cadwalladr: "It’s not too late to stop Trump and the tech broligarchy from controlling our lives, but we must act now"
#carolecadwalladr #digitalcoup #privacy #authoritarianism #nodataday

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/apr/20/carole-cadwalladr-ted-talk-this-is-what-a-digital-coup-looks-like-its-not-too-late-to-stop-trump-and-the-silicon-valley-broligarchy-from-controlling-our-lives-but-we-must-act-now

"We now have to start acting like we live in East Germany and Instagram is the Stasi."
[correctly: German Democratic Republic]

"Forget the killer robots, if you want to know what the first grade of AI apocalypse is, we're already living it: it's total information collapse."

“We are watching the collapse of the international order in real time, and this is just the start,” says investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. In a searing talk, she decries the rise of the “broligarchy” — the powerful tech executives who are using their global digital platforms to amass unprecedented geopolitical power, dismantling democracy and enabling authoritarian control across the world. Her rallying cry: resist data harvesting and mass surveillance, and support others in a groundswell of digital disobedience. “You have more power than you think,” she says.
(Recorded at TED2025 on April 8, 2025)

yewtu.be/watch?v=TZOoT8AbkNE

(youtu.be/TZOoT8AbkNE)

#CaroleCadwalladr #TED #DOGE #DigitalCoup #Broligarchy

#Digital vs. #Democracy
Not tech! People building first!

#Tech people are blind basically building the future trouble.

(We have enough already STOP)

Just use existing great basic things towards and focus on #friendships / increment #trust increase #people togetherness)

Not just solo work to make the next greatest weapon / crap / disposable code / or whatever.

People, not so much tech!

#Cadwalladr #DigitalCoup
#Privacy #Data #DataHarvesting
#Broligarchy = #TechBros + #Oligarchy

Just a TED talk.

This Is What a Digital Coup Looks Like | Carole Cadwalladr | TED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZOoT8AbkNE

#CaroleCadwalladr #DigitalCoup #dataharvesting #masssurveillance

"We have to learn how to digitally disobey." -Carole Cadwalladr

https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_this_is_what_a_digital_coup_looks_like

#digitaldisobedience #digitalcoup #ontyranny

#TEDtalk that all should listen to, and ideally all should comprehend…

Thank you #CaroleCadwalladr
Let your voice & message ring loudly across the Fedi-verse & InterWebs!

https://youtu.be/TZOoT8AbkNE?si=lxs

#Cadwalladr
#Privacy
#Broligathy
#DigitalCoup

And the prior TED-talk by Carole, for ease of reference: https://youtu.be/OQSMr-3GGvQ?si=lxs

A podcast that makes you think.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pMDqVrnQPoW6DXECfNWOI?si=nvUHvQUVQ3Gm3MfJZ-ncPA
#digitalcoup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZOoT8AbkNE

#CaroleCadwalladr 9 April 2025

This is What a #DigitalCoup Looks Like

#Broligarchy #BigTech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSMr-3GGvQ

#Facebook's role in #Brexit and the threat to #democracy ( 5 years ago)

Carol Cadwalladr was not wrong: it is a #DigitalCoup

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-social-security-administration

https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_this_is_what_a_digital_coup_looks_like?language=en Timely, heartfelt #DigitalCoup call to arms. #tedtalk

ted.com/talks/carole_cadwallad…

#Data #DigitalCoup #Resist #Disobey

“We are watching the collapse of the international order in real time, and this is just the start,” says investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. In a searing talk, she decries the rise of the “broligarchy” — the powerful tech executives who are using their global digital platforms to amass unprecedented geopolitical power, dismantling democracy and enabling authoritarian control across the world. Her rallying cry: resist data harvesting and mass surveillance, and support others in a groundswell of digital disobedience. “You have more power than you think,” she says. (This talk contains mature language.)

Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’

Musk’s loyalists at #DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out tens of thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data. The next step: Unleash the #AI.
#musk #ElonMusk #digitalcoup #takedown #takeover #privacy #security

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-digital-coup-doge-data-ai/

Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’ | WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-digital-coup-doge-data-ai/ ““This is a #digitalcoup,” one USAID source told WIRED at the time.”

Liebe Tesla-Fahrer: der Typ, der gerade in den USA einen digitalen Putsch veranstaltet, kontrolliert Euer Auto.
Lieber Robert Habeck, liebe X Nutzende, liebe Behörden, die noch auf X sind: was Ihr dort postet, und was davon zu sehen ist, kontrolliert der Typ, der gerade in den USA einen digitalen Staatsstreich veranstaltet.
#musk #digitalcoup

Reminder that these companies aren’t just a threat to free and fair elections in America, but all around the world. #digitalcoup

AFP news agency: #BREAKING Facebook says shutting New Zealand political party's page, days before election

https://twitter.com/LibertarianBlue/status/1316770807604011009 #Canada #America #Election #Libertarian #NewZealand

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Facebook removed a post from @realdonaldtrump.

A source told me that Facebook's efforts against "misinformation" were, from the start, led by a vocally anti-Trump faction.

This is all part of Big Tech's #DigitalCoup against the President.

Read:
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/09/28/deleted-outspoken-trump-antagonists-led-facebook-misinformation-efforts/ https://twitter.com/LibertarianBlue/status/1313520129934794758 #Canada #Libertarian #Trump

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