Aleem ShaunFeb 8
Ben Werdmuller
This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating. Substack hosts, profits from, and promotes explicitly Nazi content, and if you are adding value to that network, you are helping them to do so. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-substack-makes-money-from-hosting-nazi-newsletters
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters

Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism

The Guardian
Feb 7 at 5:07pmWeb
Show threadFediThing Feb 7

@ben

For people who want alternatives, Ghost is a Substack-style platform that doesn't host Nazis. Its software is free open source so you can self-host if you prefer, or use Ghost's own paid hosting service.

Ghost also has Fediverse compatibility so people can follow your Ghost blog or newsletter directly from Mastodon etc. More info at https://fedi.tips/ghost-blogs-and-newsletters-on-the-fediverse/

Ghost: Blogs and newsletters on the Fediverse | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

Show threadSarah AFeb 7
@FediThing @ben I think I tried it on #yunohost. setting it up is a bit of a struggle, it seems worth it however.
Show threadAmir KhanFeb 7

@ke7zum @FediThing @ben

@_elena might have some tips. She has some great guides and content for self hosting with #Yunohost

Show threadWhiteHotaruFeb 8
@amirbkhan & @ke7zum politely correcting some typos for visibility. The selfhost-platform @elena uses is @yunohost or #Yunohost @FediThing @ben @_elena
Show threadSarah AFeb 8
@whitehotaru @amirbkhan @elena @FediThing @ben @_elena thanks for the corrections.
Show threadNatFeb 7
@FediThing @ben I ended up using buttondown and I like it so far! Substack is also WILDLY expensive with their massive 10% cut.
Show threadMieke RothFeb 7
@FediThing @ben ghost isn’t free as far as I see?
Show threadFediThing Feb 7

@miekeroth @ben

It's free open source software (i.e. anyone can install, edit and release their own version) and the software itself is free of charge.

But you still have to pay the costs of hosting, either on Ghost.org or on your own server if you're self-hosting.

Show threadMieke RothFeb 7
@FediThing ah, ok. That isn’t clear on the website. Makes sense. @ben
Show threadFediThing Feb 7

@miekeroth @ben

Ah sorry, I should have phrased it a bit better in my post too. I've edited it to make it clearer.

Show threadMieke RothFeb 7
@FediThing <3 @ben
Show threadElenakrhohaFeb 26
@miekeroth @FediThing @ben hi there 😊 can I send you a dm?
Show threadKim ScheinbergFeb 7

@FediThing @miekeroth @ben
As I always note when this comes up, @JuliusGoat made the switch to ghost from substack and wrote about it here

https://www.the-reframe.com/1-year-after-substack/

1 Year After Substack

State of the newsletter 2025, a vacation, a new book, and some thoughts upon the 1-year anniversary of moving The Reframe.

The Reframe
Show threadMieke RothFeb 8
@kims @FediThing @ben @JuliusGoat thanks! Going read that
Show threaddraNgNonFeb 8

@miekeroth @kims @FediThing @ben @JuliusGoat Molly White moved Citation Needed to Ghost and also did a break down of cost/benefit, which I don't have the link for (on phone) so sorry to tag you in

@molly0xfff

Show threadMieke RothFeb 8
@draNgNon @kims @FediThing @ben @JuliusGoat @molly0xfff today I installed ghost on my nas. It’s version 5.8.3, still have to figure out how to install the latest version (wasn’t able to get the database install working), but that’s for another weekend.
Show threadPaul Oldham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 💛 🇺🇦Feb 8

@miekeroth @ben @FediThing you also have to pay for mail delivery as you can only do that via Mailgun (even if you self host), who charge if you want to send more that 100 emails a day.

I have about 500 subscribers to my (free) blog so that's a problem.

There is also Beehiiv which is free up to 2500 subscribers and that's with them hosting, so I may move to them.

Show threadBen WerdmullerFeb 8
@tallpaul @miekeroth @FediThing I pay for Ghost Pro which covers hosting and mail delivery. It’s not a ton of money and their support is really good. In contrast, Substack takes a huge chunk in fees if you start getting paid subscribers. And then there’s the Nazi thing. I consider the $30 worth it to avoid that alone.
Show threadMatthew SheffieldFeb 8
@FediThing @ben WordPress is much easier, and there are thousands of people who can help you with it, plus thousands of themes.
Show threadThibaultmol 🌈Feb 8

@mattsheffield @FediThing @ben depends on what you're trying to do.
Wordpress is much more complex and cumbersome to keep maintained.
While Ghost is very focused on blogging and monetizing subscriptions around your blog/newssite

Also Automattic (Wordpress)'s ceo is a transphobic asshole so yeah: https://en.osm.town/@thibaultmol/116034577888159890

Show threaddjangoFeb 8
@FediThing the self hosted version still needs a mailgun account (for newsletters), which is was an absolute PIA to find the free version https://signup.mailgun.com/new/signup?plan_name=dev_free&currency=USD 😢
Sign Up Free | Mailgun

Show threadAlison WilderFeb 7

@ben I have wondered if people were being a little overdramatic about this. I will wonder no more. They aren't.

Sorry, great people on substack. I will never subscribe to your newsletter as long as you use that service.

Show threadSam Chavez (she/they/he) 🌈🤠Feb 7

@ben 💯 especially for activists, organizers, and people who want liberatory change.

You aren’t starting a Revolution on Substack.
You’re funding Nazis just by being in the platform.

https://www.rootschangemedia.com/substack-breaking-platformization-sharon/

🎙️ Does Substack Limit Change?| Breaking Platformization with Sharon Hurley Hall

the roots of change podcast

the roots of change agency
Show threadDeb Nam-KraneFeb 7

@ben I don't have a fricking clue why people who claim to be all in for democracy and antifascism *choose* to put their information on Substack. I also don't understand why people need it proven--repeatedly--that Substack is a Nazi platform that has gotten *more* Nazi accounts since it was publicized that they hosted them. But here we are!

Good luck with the monetization, kids. (Spoiler: the scam has an expiration date, like all of the others.)

Show threadfan boy 🪭Feb 7
@ben @dnkboston
One person who is an independent reporter didn't know anything about this, when I left a comment saying I was going to need to unsubscribe.
Show threadDeb Nam-KraneFeb 7
@notyourfanboy That's incredible to me. It's pretty well-publicized, and isn't a journalist supposed to be up on the latest news? @ben
Show threadJordi (Tubal Hippy)Feb 7

@dnkboston @notyourfanboy @ben

If they can get away with feigning ignorance to save face, they will.

Show threadDeb Nam-KraneFeb 7
@Jorsh Ding ding ding ding ding @notyourfanboy @ben
Show threadfan boy 🪭Feb 7

@ben @dnkboston
Let me rephrase that.

A journalist, who I'm sure doesn't make a living at it, who covers injustice in prisons in their State, who posts once or twice a month to their substack account hadn't heard about the platform hosting Nazis.

Show threadDeb Nam-KraneFeb 7

@notyourfanboy But still.

I always assume people should know what I do because I'm really not *that* well-informed. Nothing I know is a secret, I have no access to insider information on anything. So if I know about it, a journalist should, too. I feel comfortable saying that.

@ben

Show threadkira for scaleFeb 7
@ben substack posters when you tell them they explicitly support nazis: "ohh but the chicken is so good tho"
Show threadJonathanFeb 7
@ben thank you
Show threadSebastianFeb 7
@ben That was one of the reasons, why I left this walled garden.
Show threadEllie KennardFeb 7
@ben
And even worse, it seems that my email address as I was subscribed to a feed there was given out to someone else on Substack who subscribed me to theirs, unashamedly admitting that this was how they got hold of me. I didn't know t this was a thing.
I was following Mike Elgin, Julia Doubleday, Eric Topol, Nate Bear, @erictopol etc.
Why are they on there?
Show threadEllenJSFeb 7

@ben

@molly0xfff wrote this “How I Set Up on Ghost” guide: https://www.citationneeded.news/substack-to-self-hosted-ghost/

Migrating from Substack to self-hosted Ghost: the details

I migrated Citation Needed from Substack to self-hosted Ghost. Here is exactly how I did that.

Citation Needed
Show threadSeth of the FediverseFeb 7
@ben I wonder what @MikeElgan thinks. He's still so bullish on Substack.
Show threadSeth of the FediverseFeb 7

@ben This is the main reason why I don't pay for more subscriptions to Journalists that I want to support! They're on Substack. @MikeElgan is one of them. If he moved from Substack to Ghost, Beehiiv, I'd sub right away.

Hear that Mike! 😃

Show threadMagnus AhltorpFeb 8
@ben
Show threadCeceliaFeb 8
@ahltorp @ben Is the person on the right wearing literal blinders?
Show threadMagnus AhltorpFeb 8
@helianthropy Yes.
Show threadRobert KingettFeb 8
@ben Oh it’s very well documented. I’ve catalog most of them here, but I’ve got many more to add https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/20250425/
My small list of Critiques Against Substack, Sightless Scribbles

A fabulously gay blind author.

Show threadAlirezaFeb 8
@ben @rbreich
Show threadJeri DanskyFeb 8

@ben Thanks for your comments and the link! I've just written to someone whose work I'd love to support — if it were on a different platform — and pointed them to the Guardian piece.

I don't have much faith that it will help, but it can't hurt to ask him to please move.

Show threadTaran RampersadFeb 8

@ben it is pretty interesting to me that everyone is looking for a platform when they could simply be their own and not be subject to changes in policies, etc, on centralized platforms.

Seeing this on the fediverse seems incongruent.

Something like technorati used to be could simply pull rss from writer sites and share them in a federated way.

And the article itself... yeah. But I would have found a way to squeeze the genocide that is still happening now into it.

Show threadBen WerdmullerFeb 8
@knowprose I’ve been an indieweb advocate for a very long time and ran an indieweb platform. My take is that most people don’t want the maintenance overhead. That means choosing a turnkey platform - of which Ghost and WordPress are the obvious standouts because of the lack of lock-in.
Show threadTaran RampersadFeb 8

@ben agreed.

We want convenience without responsibility.

Nothing new here.

Writing something now on this. On my platform. 🤣

Show threadTaran RampersadFeb 8

@ben

If you're bored.... part 2 is also done. I will spare you the toot. 🤣 if you are interested, you will find it.
https://realityfragments.com/2026/02/08/substack-and-the-elephants-in-the-room-1-of-2/

Substack And the Elephants In The Room (1 of 2) - RealityFragments.com

The resurgence of the Nazism-Substack discussion has surfaced again, and I’ve seen plenty written about it. I have a few things to write. This is one of two. What’s largely missing is this: while most sane people agree that Nazism is bad, the genocide in Gaza—happening in full view of the world—is rarely mentioned in

RealityFragments.com - Personal scribblings of Taran.
Show threadPax Ahimsa GethenFeb 8

@ben

As I've stated whenever this comes up, I am saddened that many of my fellow progressives continue to support the #Substack platform.

https://funcrunch.org/blog/2025/09/01/support-for-substack-is-normalizing-the-nazi-bar/

Support for Substack is Normalizing the Nazi Bar

[Image: The logo for Substack on a faded, pixelated red background with a swastika in the center.] As a Black trans US-American who is a long-time atheist, vegan, and pacifist, I am very accustomed…

the funcrunch files