Substack adds 'report' button to app amid moderation controversies

Newsletter platform Substack now has a “report” button its app, allowing readers to flag posts and publications directly. The feature has been available on the web version of the platform for the past four months, enabling users to report profiles and “Notes”, Substack’s fairly new replication of Twitter/X posts. The latest update on the app was spotted by Chris Messina, and first reported by The Verge. Credit: Screenshot / Apple Store. Substack is in the midst of controversy, as a flurry of users have left the platform amid accusations of content moderation issues. The platform came under fire for reportedly allowing white supremacist, alt-right, and “explicitly Nazi newsletters” to build a home on its site, according to a November 2023 investigation from The Atlantic. In response, hundreds of Substack publishers wrote an open letter to the company’s leadership. SEE ALSO: The ongoing content moderation issues behind Substack’s meltdown In the letter, the writers asked of Substack’s team: “Why do you choose to promote and allow the monetization of sites that traffic in white nationalism?”The “Substackers Against Nazis” campaign cited Mashable’s reporting on a previous exodus of Substack writers, again pointing to the prevalence of bigotry — namely transphobia — on the platform. The letter questioned Substack’s “hands-off approach to content moderation”, writing, “But there’s a difference between a hands-off approach and putting your thumb on the scale. We know you moderate some content, including spam sites and newsletters written by sex workers.””Your unwillingness to play by your own rules on…Substack adds 'report' button to app amid moderation controversies