Substack and Platformer, Moderation and Infrastructure, Bars and Culture

In this Stratechery update, Ben Thompson discusses the controversy surrounding Substack's moderation policies, particularly regarding Nazi content. He summarizes Casey Newton's reporting on Substack's decision to remove some publications supporting Nazis, while maintaining its overall content policy. Thompson analyzes the conflict between free speech principles and the responsibility of platforms to moderate content, referencing Mike Masnick's "Nazi Bar" concept. He argues that Substack's choice to allow and even monetize Nazi content impacts its reputation. Thompson also addresses the broader issue of censorship moving down the internet stack, expressing concern about the long-term costs of abandoning free speech as a blanket principle, and highlights the slippery slope of content moderation, referencing anti-vaccine and COVID-19 related content.