I would like to discuss the Substack process. Because I see too many readers being willingly bamboozled by this. And controlling Substack hosts who claim they are "freedom-fighters" but who use WOKE totalitarian tactics on any commenter/subscriber who fails to make them look good (which is the entire name of the game for some Substack ho…
I would like to discuss the Substack process. Because I see too many readers being willingly bamboozled by this. And controlling Substack hosts who claim they are "freedom-fighters" but who use WOKE totalitarian tactics on any commenter/subscriber who fails to make them look good (which is the entire name of the game for some Substack hosts).)
Substack in 2024 has nearly 20,000 hosts with a site. Chris Rufo is one of that group.
Anyone can sign-up for a Substack. No credentials required. The top dozen Substack hosts make$500,000 to $1,500,000 annually. Though of course, that's the top money group. The bottom group earns a pittance.
It is up to them how they present themselves. Some are very honest, some are grifters and scam-artists. Some have actual material-of-value to offer, while some make it up as they go along. Several are sources of expert information, while others are just entertainers with the latest meme gimmick.
A sizable portion of Substack hosts would fall in the category of "Influencers" rather than experts. This becomes a problem, because many readers confuse the two categories. They think that anyone who captures their Substack attention (in any way) must be an "expert".
Not so.
And we do need to be very careful right now, in this age of a coming Trump Presidency, that a new potentially non-WOKE society does not get steamrolled by Substack "Influencers", when what is needed are authentic experts.
Independent media platforms such as Substack can be of value, of course. But they also have a dark side. If we simply jump from a broken MSM to new independent media, without being thoughtful about this, it will be a matter of jumping from the frying pan into the fire.....we will simply have gone from one bad media set-up to another bad media set-up.
My point is, the Left wants to censor speech, partly by controlling who gets to have a platform. Their reasoning is that “we can’t trust just anybody to say whatever they want anywhere at any time, we have to set up gatekeepers to control what people read. For their own good. Because if people read just anything, they might be BAMBOOZLED!” I think I just summarized your comment above.
The rest of us want more speech, and we trust people to read what they want and figure it out. We’re not into controlling others. We instinctively mistrust self-appointed gatekeepers.
Also, why does it matter if I am a subscriber or not? Am I not allowed to express a point of view, or does paying money somehow make your point of view more valid?
Yes, but MSM started that way, and still they spiralled down into corruption and propaganda,
I can already see the dark side of the new independent media. Seeing as we are supposed to be improving society, what do we do about this? It's a bit like Communism falling in 1989 in the former USSR, but then criminal thugs taking control. About the same result.
I would like to discuss the Substack process. Because I see too many readers being willingly bamboozled by this. And controlling Substack hosts who claim they are "freedom-fighters" but who use WOKE totalitarian tactics on any commenter/subscriber who fails to make them look good (which is the entire name of the game for some Substack hosts).)
Substack in 2024 has nearly 20,000 hosts with a site. Chris Rufo is one of that group.
Anyone can sign-up for a Substack. No credentials required. The top dozen Substack hosts make$500,000 to $1,500,000 annually. Though of course, that's the top money group. The bottom group earns a pittance.
It is up to them how they present themselves. Some are very honest, some are grifters and scam-artists. Some have actual material-of-value to offer, while some make it up as they go along. Several are sources of expert information, while others are just entertainers with the latest meme gimmick.
A sizable portion of Substack hosts would fall in the category of "Influencers" rather than experts. This becomes a problem, because many readers confuse the two categories. They think that anyone who captures their Substack attention (in any way) must be an "expert".
Not so.
And we do need to be very careful right now, in this age of a coming Trump Presidency, that a new potentially non-WOKE society does not get steamrolled by Substack "Influencers", when what is needed are authentic experts.
Independent media platforms such as Substack can be of value, of course. But they also have a dark side. If we simply jump from a broken MSM to new independent media, without being thoughtful about this, it will be a matter of jumping from the frying pan into the fire.....we will simply have gone from one bad media set-up to another bad media set-up.
“Anyone can sign up for a Substack.” GOOD.
Your point is?
Ironically, you don't even seem to be a subscriber, while I am.
My point is, the Left wants to censor speech, partly by controlling who gets to have a platform. Their reasoning is that “we can’t trust just anybody to say whatever they want anywhere at any time, we have to set up gatekeepers to control what people read. For their own good. Because if people read just anything, they might be BAMBOOZLED!” I think I just summarized your comment above.
The rest of us want more speech, and we trust people to read what they want and figure it out. We’re not into controlling others. We instinctively mistrust self-appointed gatekeepers.
Also, why does it matter if I am a subscriber or not? Am I not allowed to express a point of view, or does paying money somehow make your point of view more valid?
Yes, but MSM started that way, and still they spiralled down into corruption and propaganda,
I can already see the dark side of the new independent media. Seeing as we are supposed to be improving society, what do we do about this? It's a bit like Communism falling in 1989 in the former USSR, but then criminal thugs taking control. About the same result.
Can't we do better?