There was significant pushback against Lemmy when I first joined based on the prominent role authoritarian apologists for the Soviet Union played in its infrastructure and federation network. I saw the underlying structure of federation between servers and the collaborative nature of the threaded discussion system as unambiguously anarchist. I joined Lemmy to contribute my own thoughts and share the stories that catch my attention to the decentralized discussion, in spite of those valid concerns. I think I made the right choice. Lemmy is not pure, but it is good enough to build upon.

In February 2025 (Pushing Back Against Big Tech), all of our admins in our capacity as moderators and posters agreed to stop sharing stories from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Google in response to the leadership of those platforms overt support for fascism. We encouraged our moderators to follow suit, which they’ve done with overwhelming support. This is part of a coordinated movement to de-center these platforms from the web.

Many famous people who used Twitter as their main social media have joined the movement also, and moved to alternative platforms to stop bringing traffic to the enemy. This represents a sacrifice on their part, as many do their own social media, and have to learn a new set of media tools. We support those creators who are making that sacrifice.

Substack is one of those platforms many creators have made their new home. It has shown extreme growth since the collapse of Twitter. As an admin, I’m disappointed to hear that fascist voices are also finding a home on Substack. While Substack has declined to censor them, it has not overtly endorsed those voices, and is not boosting them over their non-fascist content. As a corporation hosted in America where censoring fascists is likely to draw attention from the new regime, their stance has an uncomfortable context. I hope they eventually do better.

Assuming the shared goal of de-centering Twitter and dis-empowering its fascist CEO, blacklisting Substack is counter-productive. Substack is the home of several anarchist, left, and progressive voices. Linking to them should be encouraged. While it would be better if everyone joined the Fediverse or self-hosted instead of choosing another form of corporate social media, this is the home that many people fighting fascism have found. If they are producing anti-fascist content, it is counter-productive to our goals not to link to it.

While many remain on Substack in spite of its poor decision, many authors have shown great moral fortitude by leaving the platform in protest. Authors like Jonathan M. Katz, Molly White, Ryan Broderick, and Casey Newton have left Substack and now publish content directly from their own websites. This is widely considered professional suicide, but you can support their ethical antifascist stance by reading their content and sharing it across the Fediverse. If they can survive and thrive without a corporate sponsor, it will encourage other writers to follow their example.

We are living at a time when writing is dangerous. Rewarding authors with positive attention who take bold anti-fascist actions I think will be much more effective than trying to cut off another source of revenue for struggling writers. It is difficult enough to find content when the corporate behemoths are no longer an option. I think removing Substack in its entirety as a source at this point would make the Fediverse worse.

This will remain the main one for serious discussion for April.

Good answer.

This comment requires at least a ‘Poser’ Tier.

“Rights” like freedom of speech are a government fiction to lull you into a false sense of security – the only protections that can keep you safe are the ones enough people are willing to fight for.

The last two months, Huffman has been censoring Reddit to be more pro-Elon. Elon may have personally requested the ban.

Yes, this would be an excellent !abc@slrpnk.net post. You can find all of the posts on Maja here, they are categorized as [DEU] because the arrest was due to the agency of the German police, and it is due to the injustice of German courts that they are now being tortured in Hungary. Maja’s voice is most loudly amplified by the Dresden ABC, and I’ve been unable to find an ABC in Hungary; those are also factors in its localization.

If you preface the post with [DEU] and highlight Maja in the title, the post will also be easily searchable. You can copy the [DEU] and Maja search links from any other Maja post text.

Thanks, fixed.

I love that TWRP is still making great music. I still have Starlight Brigade in rotation from before the pandemic.

💚

Now is not the time for the climate movement to say “yes you’re right, those kids really are too disruptive, shame on them.” I’m not suggesting that people publicly support tactics they don’t approve of, but perhaps just…shut up once in a while? Let a protest tactic you don’t agree with slide now and again? Skip the op-ed about how the fringe climate radicals are turning people off? Leave the armchair criticism for another day?

This needs to be a Solarpunk copypasta.

Probably January 5th Capitol Riot defendants, unfortunately.

That sounds like a really nice neighborhood to live in.

Thanks! Fixed the link.

Biome name ideas:

• Arroyo
• Chaparral
• Garrigue
• Maquis (pronounced mah-KEE)
• Tundra
• Taiga
• Veldt
• Oued (pronounced “Wade”) / Wadi
• Xeric is a pretty cool name

Ronald Wilson Reagan.

A reasonable criticism. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Great find.

The Onion article is absolutely incredible.

I enjoy her writing too. Her piece on the threat of Facebook entering the Fediverse does a great job of making the case.