Who decides? Oh, the censors? No thanks. I prefer exposure to a variety of opinions, perspectives, and even rumours. Trusting in censorship as a response to potentially false information is similar, but more dangerous than trusting “government help”.
I find it very odd that you are accusing the adminstration of censorship when the Biden adminstration has perpetuated more censorship in the history of this country. Donald Trump has done more in a few days to end the tyranical Biden administration censorship than any other president. Explain yourself.
PS. And yes, the other wing of the oligarchy (the pro-billionaire fake "liberal") is also horrible, but that does not make the fake "populist" billionaires the solution. This comment isn't partisan and cheering for one or the other wing of the Oligarchy (as moat americans are taught to do). Please see full elaboration here https://substack.com/@headandheart1/note/c-89589245 on what is actually meant by this comment.
Karen you are exactly correct. How is it that Twitter, Facebook etc were ordered or coerced into cancelling those who spoke out against the tyranny of political correctness and so called science of Biden and the deep state was OK? It is a real shame that people are so rabidly opposed to others who don’t agree with them. We all have opinions and should be able to have a civil discussion predicated on information and facts from all sides. That certainly hasn’t been happening.
Either provide examples with backup as to who the publisher/TV broadcast was, with dates and full comments - no taking comments out of context - or explain your inability to do so.
Chris, Hamish and Jairaj, I have reached out to the three of you on numerous occasions to ask for your assurances that Substack leadership would refuse any efforts by government representatives to obtain information about your users, absent any legal requirement such as a warrant to do so.
To date, none of you have responded to my requests for assurances nor addressed the issue to the body of Substack users.
If you have in the past, or believe you may be compelled to succumb to such non-legal requests in the future, the very least you can do is to advise your users that their use, input and identities are subject to government scrutiny upon request. From a user standpoint, forewarned is forearmed.
The EU is trying hard to censor and destroy opposition, and yet the only "systemic threat" mentioned is the new Presidential administration. Wasn't there some kind of threat of censorship from the previous Presidential administration? It seems there was some kind of twitter files episode where the democrat/administrative state was revealed to be targeting some opinions or such. I have been a subscriber for a long time, but if this organization leans any more into TDS or partisanship, I will see these efforts to "provide legal support" for voices on substack as just a fig leaf to shield biased attack dogs while they organize resistance against government/social/cultural changes that might have the Trump administrations fingerprints on them. I don't want to support The Resistance. Debate is fine. Divergent views are fine. Saying that Donald Trump is 90% Big Mac with a sneer and saying outright that RJKj was a hostage forced to consume toxic food is, to my ear, the ad hominem opinion of someone with hate in their heart. Get an exorcism and cast out the fear of whatever is driving that soul destroying resentment. I don't want to take away someone's right to choose who they love or how they live, why would someone want to take away my right to support the candidate and platform of MY choice? That said, I HOPE that this effort is a good faith effort to support ALL substack opinions and not like so many other initiatives that say they are doing one thing while running a hidden agenda.
"Lighten up Frances". Very interesting to see alleged educated people be so childish and irrational with all the name calling, inaccurate canned statements with no spine for civil debate, and the feeble personal attacks upon others. It's the exact same redicilousness everywhere. Crying and whining about an uncontested, clean sweep election that has to be accepted just as the last catastrophic administration was tolerated.
The Biden administration clearly lied about countless issues from the start, upto and including contacting social media companies demanding they violate citizens 1at amendment rights and control what the public was allowed to see. Special Agent Elvis Chan was tasked with being point of contact for the misinformation campaign and point of contact for squelching the truth. All major networks as well as PBS, NPR, MSNBC, CNN were one sided fear mongering, covering up for joe, and only ever concerned with fluffing up one side of the story all of the time.
Echo chamber on the national level and anti-social media has been disrupted, so extreme manipulation of the unthinking masses has been greatly reduced.
It is comical that concerns are in place for the current administration and no mention of the proven wrongdoing of the last administration.
Bon voyage, rude human, you are not welcome anywhere except with your own like minded
Yeah right, Trump is the big threat to free speech, not the federal agencies that screamed at and threatened social media as detailed in the Twitter tapes and explicitly described by Mark Zuckerburg. Sure glad you're here to protect us from the Boogie Man.
“The new presidential administration has a record of using the courts to silence journalists and has issued threats against those in the media.” I believe those were actually defamation lawsuits, which the billionaire media giant owners choose to settle out of court rather than enter into discovery, which is exactly the tactic Substack stated they use. And interestingly enough they are all lining up behind him. Seek the truth, print the truth, and if you’re wrong retract your untruths. Be they slanderous lies or honest mistakes. I believe as an author that might keep you out of trouble during any administration. IMHO
Good work and thank you. But every time at the moment I see a development like this I do feel compelled to suggest Substack’s most urgent need is for (specialist) Editors/collators to get work seen. I’m worried a lot of great writing is getting lost right now, I’m not the only one, and I want to help. (My area of vast experience is sports) best wishes, Lee
You had me until you stated “The new presidential administration has a record of using the courts to silence journalists and has issued threats against those in the media.”
Another words you are biased against the Trump admin but make no mention of the previous administration or the Government political warfare for Crossfire Hurricane and others. Tells me you have an agenda not a service for the truth. Can’t support this.
"Good work and thank you. But every time at the moment I see a development like this I do feel compelled to suggest Substack’s most urgent need is for (specialist) Editors/collators to get work seen. I’m worried a lot of great writing is getting lost right now..."
Seriously- thank you but I was not speaking euphemistically. The link is the article provided was for those needing this defense. Id like to contribute towards the defense fund and wonderred if anyone saw any guidance on this?
Fair enough. I’m just feeling jaded by all these sites telling how bad things are while collecting money which subscribers read while eating popcorn as if a movie western without realizing there is no cavalry coming to the rescue.
Sounds like you are democrats. The Biden DOJ colluded with Facebook, Twitter, The Times, and the courts to silence words that didn’t fit their narrative. Blaming Trump who has been in office less than two weeks shows an incredible bias, if not outright lies by Substack. You have been extremely silence these past 4 years and now you are scared? What an insult to the readers and authors of this forum.
But the only payment processor substack uses is Stripe, which has draconian censorship policies. Anyone working on a new option for accepting payments? We can’t speak freely on Substack with stripe.
Is this a panicked response to your taking the knee yesterday? Trump and Musk are the kings of the SLAPP. They are the greatest threat to actual free speech and not hate speech, in the world. And you were kissing their rings in a disgusting manner yesterday. And now you’re talking about defending free speech instead of retracting your disgusting ode to vile fascist? Cowardice.
Easy on the bias and hyperbole please. You appear to have forgotten how the Dems from Obama on and the libs in Canada, and their equivalents in Britain and the EU, etc. and all their tech and media puppets, have done more to destroy free speech, censor and obfuscate truth and even prosecute truth tellers since the days of communist East Germany. Not sure how you managed to do that.
How bout keep political, rabid anti-Trump biases out of here eh? Let's just agree to unite in the fight to protect and preserve open, honest and transparant dialogue, scientific esp. Let people (esp. intelligent ones) speak their minds and argue their cases without fear of partisan reprisal or esp. big monied interfence and prosecution from gov't or industry, which is the real threat, and so maintain the open marketplace of ideas we all want to see thrive.
Lol ... libel law post-Sullivan makes it almost impossible for a public figure to prevail. That FB, et al, settled shows they did NOT want internal docs unearthed during discovery.
I am amazed that Substack would put in print anything about the present administration and censoring. Get a grip guys, thought you were intelligent & informed that statement says no.
The Biden administration station have time after time demonstrated overt censorship…. Are you not aware of their overzealous manipulation at Twitter? Are you not aware that Zuck called them out on their desire to control speech? Cmon, this is so basic I wonder why anyone would respect your next message.
Be hones, be fair, call balks & strikes and don’t be partisan. It’s disgusting!
Those proven days of unprecedented peril just got voted out of office. Take a deep breath, shake out the propaganda and lies we've been told, choosing to seek truth, facts and reality.
Please also defend us from BOTS so we ensure this is a human community free of interference and disinformation.
Working on it!
What about humans posting disinformation?
Let other humans respond. The answer to censorship of free speech is more free speech.
I asked if Substack will defend its community from people posting disinformation. Disinformation is defined as such:
"False information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth."
Who decides? Oh, the censors? No thanks. I prefer exposure to a variety of opinions, perspectives, and even rumours. Trusting in censorship as a response to potentially false information is similar, but more dangerous than trusting “government help”.
Bots have patterns — can use that to filter out
Hello 👋 how are you doing today and how is the weather over there today
I find it very odd that you are accusing the adminstration of censorship when the Biden adminstration has perpetuated more censorship in the history of this country. Donald Trump has done more in a few days to end the tyranical Biden administration censorship than any other president. Explain yourself.
Substack kissed the swastika ring of Trump yesterday, they are your fellow MAGA travelers pal.
?
I’m sorry, you left yourself unzipped and your hyperbole flopped out.
I’m to the point when I hear the coyotes of ignorance howl in our newfound Fascist States of America I can only smile and move on.
Free Siberia
free Ukraine
Free Tibet
Free Blue States.
Karen… to be honest that’s a really apt name.
dear trump supporter: explain yourself. just kidding. you've got no excuses.
Censorship of fake news and misleading information is not same as using judicial power to silence journalists
Another well-intentioned but heavily-propagandized and deceived worshipper of the fake "populist" billionaire tyrants . For details, please see here https://substack.com/@headandheart1/note/c-89589245
PS. And yes, the other wing of the oligarchy (the pro-billionaire fake "liberal") is also horrible, but that does not make the fake "populist" billionaires the solution. This comment isn't partisan and cheering for one or the other wing of the Oligarchy (as moat americans are taught to do). Please see full elaboration here https://substack.com/@headandheart1/note/c-89589245 on what is actually meant by this comment.
Karen you are exactly correct. How is it that Twitter, Facebook etc were ordered or coerced into cancelling those who spoke out against the tyranny of political correctness and so called science of Biden and the deep state was OK? It is a real shame that people are so rabidly opposed to others who don’t agree with them. We all have opinions and should be able to have a civil discussion predicated on information and facts from all sides. That certainly hasn’t been happening.
⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️
Either provide examples with backup as to who the publisher/TV broadcast was, with dates and full comments - no taking comments out of context - or explain your inability to do so.
Wow… just wow.
⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️
Chris, Hamish and Jairaj, I have reached out to the three of you on numerous occasions to ask for your assurances that Substack leadership would refuse any efforts by government representatives to obtain information about your users, absent any legal requirement such as a warrant to do so.
To date, none of you have responded to my requests for assurances nor addressed the issue to the body of Substack users.
If you have in the past, or believe you may be compelled to succumb to such non-legal requests in the future, the very least you can do is to advise your users that their use, input and identities are subject to government scrutiny upon request. From a user standpoint, forewarned is forearmed.
The EU is trying hard to censor and destroy opposition, and yet the only "systemic threat" mentioned is the new Presidential administration. Wasn't there some kind of threat of censorship from the previous Presidential administration? It seems there was some kind of twitter files episode where the democrat/administrative state was revealed to be targeting some opinions or such. I have been a subscriber for a long time, but if this organization leans any more into TDS or partisanship, I will see these efforts to "provide legal support" for voices on substack as just a fig leaf to shield biased attack dogs while they organize resistance against government/social/cultural changes that might have the Trump administrations fingerprints on them. I don't want to support The Resistance. Debate is fine. Divergent views are fine. Saying that Donald Trump is 90% Big Mac with a sneer and saying outright that RJKj was a hostage forced to consume toxic food is, to my ear, the ad hominem opinion of someone with hate in their heart. Get an exorcism and cast out the fear of whatever is driving that soul destroying resentment. I don't want to take away someone's right to choose who they love or how they live, why would someone want to take away my right to support the candidate and platform of MY choice? That said, I HOPE that this effort is a good faith effort to support ALL substack opinions and not like so many other initiatives that say they are doing one thing while running a hidden agenda.
They kissed the butt of the new administration yesterday, which is why I’m leaving this Nazi loving platform.
Bye Dustin!
It’s not an airport or train station. Departures don’t need to be announced.
"Lighten up Frances". Very interesting to see alleged educated people be so childish and irrational with all the name calling, inaccurate canned statements with no spine for civil debate, and the feeble personal attacks upon others. It's the exact same redicilousness everywhere. Crying and whining about an uncontested, clean sweep election that has to be accepted just as the last catastrophic administration was tolerated.
The Biden administration clearly lied about countless issues from the start, upto and including contacting social media companies demanding they violate citizens 1at amendment rights and control what the public was allowed to see. Special Agent Elvis Chan was tasked with being point of contact for the misinformation campaign and point of contact for squelching the truth. All major networks as well as PBS, NPR, MSNBC, CNN were one sided fear mongering, covering up for joe, and only ever concerned with fluffing up one side of the story all of the time.
Echo chamber on the national level and anti-social media has been disrupted, so extreme manipulation of the unthinking masses has been greatly reduced.
It is comical that concerns are in place for the current administration and no mention of the proven wrongdoing of the last administration.
Bon voyage, rude human, you are not welcome anywhere except with your own like minded
🥱🥱🥱
Exactly
The Substack Defender program needs its own Terms and Conditions or at least an inclusion the T&C’s on the general Terms page, please.
You can build confidence in the program by openly sharing the terms and limits of the program.
Hi Sonora, you can find details on this page, linked at the bottom of the post: https://pages.substack.com/defender/
Yes, totally saw that link. Terms and Conditions are more detailed though, yes? I think we need both. Or included in the general T&C’s of Substack?
Yes. Exactly. Very concisely put.
Yeah right, Trump is the big threat to free speech, not the federal agencies that screamed at and threatened social media as detailed in the Twitter tapes and explicitly described by Mark Zuckerburg. Sure glad you're here to protect us from the Boogie Man.
Did you see their update yesterday calling Trump and Musk heroes of free speech?
Lol ... you keep threatening to leave, and yet here you still are ...
My thoughts exactly, Dustin. To read this newest post by Substacks rings hollow to me after yesterday’s defense of the tech bros
Why waste time arguing with fools? All dialectics are exercises in Sophistry, typically for both sides.
Do I note a certain amount of cynicism and sarcasm? 😉
drippingly ;-)
The NEW administration goes after media and writers etc? Short memory. Sad but not an unexpected position
“The new presidential administration has a record of using the courts to silence journalists and has issued threats against those in the media.” I believe those were actually defamation lawsuits, which the billionaire media giant owners choose to settle out of court rather than enter into discovery, which is exactly the tactic Substack stated they use. And interestingly enough they are all lining up behind him. Seek the truth, print the truth, and if you’re wrong retract your untruths. Be they slanderous lies or honest mistakes. I believe as an author that might keep you out of trouble during any administration. IMHO
Good work and thank you. But every time at the moment I see a development like this I do feel compelled to suggest Substack’s most urgent need is for (specialist) Editors/collators to get work seen. I’m worried a lot of great writing is getting lost right now, I’m not the only one, and I want to help. (My area of vast experience is sports) best wishes, Lee
You had me until you stated “The new presidential administration has a record of using the courts to silence journalists and has issued threats against those in the media.”
Another words you are biased against the Trump admin but make no mention of the previous administration or the Government political warfare for Crossfire Hurricane and others. Tells me you have an agenda not a service for the truth. Can’t support this.
Meta just paid Trump HUGE buck to settle one of Trump law suits against media.
So your point is?????
You are free to not be on this post.
I’m not absolving the Trump admin. If they are wrong go get them. Just run the road both ways and be objective.
Can I reiterate what Lee Wellings says below:
"Good work and thank you. But every time at the moment I see a development like this I do feel compelled to suggest Substack’s most urgent need is for (specialist) Editors/collators to get work seen. I’m worried a lot of great writing is getting lost right now..."
Agree — but two options — not mutually exclusive
- better curation (and editing )
- better search and discoverability
How does one donate to this?
Ah, here it comes. The donation shill. The ram with the bell around its neck.
Seriously- thank you but I was not speaking euphemistically. The link is the article provided was for those needing this defense. Id like to contribute towards the defense fund and wonderred if anyone saw any guidance on this?
Fair enough. I’m just feeling jaded by all these sites telling how bad things are while collecting money which subscribers read while eating popcorn as if a movie western without realizing there is no cavalry coming to the rescue.
Sounds like you are democrats. The Biden DOJ colluded with Facebook, Twitter, The Times, and the courts to silence words that didn’t fit their narrative. Blaming Trump who has been in office less than two weeks shows an incredible bias, if not outright lies by Substack. You have been extremely silence these past 4 years and now you are scared? What an insult to the readers and authors of this forum.
But the only payment processor substack uses is Stripe, which has draconian censorship policies. Anyone working on a new option for accepting payments? We can’t speak freely on Substack with stripe.
Agree @Mia Schacter
Is this a panicked response to your taking the knee yesterday? Trump and Musk are the kings of the SLAPP. They are the greatest threat to actual free speech and not hate speech, in the world. And you were kissing their rings in a disgusting manner yesterday. And now you’re talking about defending free speech instead of retracting your disgusting ode to vile fascist? Cowardice.
Easy on the bias and hyperbole please. You appear to have forgotten how the Dems from Obama on and the libs in Canada, and their equivalents in Britain and the EU, etc. and all their tech and media puppets, have done more to destroy free speech, censor and obfuscate truth and even prosecute truth tellers since the days of communist East Germany. Not sure how you managed to do that.
How bout keep political, rabid anti-Trump biases out of here eh? Let's just agree to unite in the fight to protect and preserve open, honest and transparant dialogue, scientific esp. Let people (esp. intelligent ones) speak their minds and argue their cases without fear of partisan reprisal or esp. big monied interfence and prosecution from gov't or industry, which is the real threat, and so maintain the open marketplace of ideas we all want to see thrive.
Lol ... libel law post-Sullivan makes it almost impossible for a public figure to prevail. That FB, et al, settled shows they did NOT want internal docs unearthed during discovery.
100%. Well said, Dustin!
😂😂😂 🥱🥱🥱
I am amazed that Substack would put in print anything about the present administration and censoring. Get a grip guys, thought you were intelligent & informed that statement says no.
The Biden administration station have time after time demonstrated overt censorship…. Are you not aware of their overzealous manipulation at Twitter? Are you not aware that Zuck called them out on their desire to control speech? Cmon, this is so basic I wonder why anyone would respect your next message.
Be hones, be fair, call balks & strikes and don’t be partisan. It’s disgusting!
These are days of unprecedented peril.
Those proven days of unprecedented peril just got voted out of office. Take a deep breath, shake out the propaganda and lies we've been told, choosing to seek truth, facts and reality.