Substack, according to writer Jonathan Katz, has "a Nazi problem."

Substack is an email newsletter platform where users build an audience through subscriptions. Readers can consume the content within their email, on the Substack website, or the Substack app. The platform allows writers to offer paid subscriptions, keeping some or all of the content behind a paywall. Substack collects 10% of whatever gets charged, and Stripe, the payment processor, takes a percentage as well. Full disclosure: I have a Substack publication with free and paid subscribers.

LAUREN BOEBERT’S DISTRICT SWAP IS GIFT TO GOP, BUT REELECTION OBSTACLES REMAIN

In a piece for the Atlantic in late November, Katz highlighted several newsletters that featured white supremacist topics and others that had Nazi symbols and rhetoric. While he acknowledged the number of those is a small number of the over 17,000 paid writers on the platform, he warned, "to overlook white-nationalist newsletters on Substack as marginal or harmless would be a mistake."

Naturally, in a culture where everyone gets offended, some prominent Substack authors began complaining and eventually wrote an open letter to Substack’s leadership demanding they explain themselves to "decide if this is still where we want to be." To their credit, Substack did not back down. Co-founder Hamish McKenzie issued a statement through the platform saying they would not remove the publications nor stop them from offering paid subscriptions.

The question then follows: "How did Katz come across those publications?"

Simple. He went looking for them. Substack is really not a social media platform. It starkly differs from typical social media in that the experience is not driven by algorithms. X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads all serve up content based on other content you’ve consumed. Substack puts control in the hands of the reader. They choose what they want to see. No one has to read or subscribe to White-Papers with the tagline, "Your pro-White policy destination," if they don’t want to.

Naturally, the outrage is selective. The authors who wrote the letter have a problem with Nazis, but they don’t seem to care that an anti-Semite like Chris Hedges — who once floated the idea that anti-Semitism on college campuses was nothing more than a propaganda campaign by the "Israel lobby" — publishes and profits from his rubbish. Go looking, and there is plenty of anti-Israel content on Substack, replete with anti-Semitic tropes.

Therein lies the problem.

While I have no doubt that some authors are truly upset about some publications, they are free to take their business elsewhere. Some have. They’ve moved to Ghost, Patreon, Medium, and others. That’s the beauty of the free market, and unlike an actual social media platform, authors can take their subscriber list with them when they leave.

However, others are there simply to stir the pot, pretend it hurts their feelings, and give ultimatums. And it won’t stop with Nazis. They’ll target "anti-trans hate" Substack authors next, such as Meghan Daum, Abigail Shrier, and Jesse Singal (some already tried with Singal). Remember, merely saying there are only two genders is an example of "anti-trans hate." They’re like a modern-day Social Justice Terminator. "They can’t be bargained with. They can’t be reasoned with. They don’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Exchanging ideas means coming across some you won’t like. You might find it abhorrent, and the ideas may go against every facet of your personal beliefs and views. So what? You can either choose to engage or not bother. Substack offers that for people who want to control what they read and ignore whatever they do not. Don’t force Substack to control what we read. We can do that ourselves.

Jay Caruso is a writer and editor residing in West Virginia.