Philip Bump:

It is useful and important to look at this question not through the lens of persuasion but the lens of power. Your engagement and your work, not unlike your vote, is a form of power, something you can choose to grant to others. Those others, particularly organizations and companies, accrue that power to use as they see fit. [...]

[Substack] has done a good job creating tools that make it easy to publish. A number of well-regarded journalists use those tools and have built their personal brands by doing so. [...] But they have done so while sharing that growth with Substack, a company that intentionally provides a voice to white nationalist and Nazi propaganda. They have transferred their power to a company that has used it to promote toxic rhetoric in the guise of "having a debate." [...]

Even if they worked perfectly, Substack and Twitter/X only accrue power over the long term for Substack and X. If one of Substack's most popular authors were to be abducted by aliens tomorrow, Substack retains the value she created on the company's behalf. It benefits institutionally from her using the platform. She helped build its institutional power -- which it currently uses, in small part, to ensure Nazis a voice in the discussion.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.