This is a good read by Philip Bump, a seasoned journalist, on the consolidation of power in media, and why he doesn’t use Substack.
https://www.pbump.net/o/the-power-we-use-and-the-power-we-give/
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.
It also ties into the question of who makes the decisions of what media rises to our attention. That’s something I’ve been grappling with a lot over the past three years, and I do think it’s of vital importance for the future of our society.
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