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Australian publishers weigh Substack exits amid backlash over pro-Nazi content

Australian publishers including trade media outlet Unmade are considering their futures on Substack, as the US newsletter platform faces a backlash over pro-Nazi content.

John Buckley
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Substack's hands-off approach to content moderation has led some Australian publishers to consider their futures on the platform. Sipa USA/Rafael Henrique.

Upstart Australian media businesses publishing on Substack are mulling exits from the subscription newsletter platform, following a drawn-out content moderation debate that saw the service’s leadership refuse to ban pro-Nazi content.

Two prominent Australian publishers on Substack, the regional outlet Murray Darling News and media industry title Unmade, had both been considering their futures on the platform before the Nazi controversy spilled into public view. Now, the platform’s hands-off approach to content moderation could speed up their exits.

Peri Strathearn, founder of South Australia’s Murray Bridge News, said that while cost-effectiveness is his key reason for looking elsewhere, Substack’s approach to moderating extremist content has put “another brick in the wall”.

“Ninety-nine per cent of our readers are probably oblivious to the current blow-up. But it's a factor,” Strathearn told Capital Brief. “Substack’s admirable devotion to free speech is gradually becoming something of a bat-signal to nutjobs. At some point, the company’s leadership has to recognise that it risks its brand being trashed by association.”