wired, The formerly honest but now far left tech publication needs to step back in a false statement made about the Substack newsletter platform after being summoned on Twitter by Substack’s head of communications, Lulu Cheng Meservy.
A left-wing tech publication falsely claims that Substack “actively recruits and pays extremists.” This claim was made in an article on how to migrate your content from Substack. wired, Including “The Weak Promise of a Bottom Pile Dream” and “The Bottom Pile is now a playground for those leaving the platform.”
We’re fixing something.
Thanks for all the support and thanks @WIRED to listen. https://t.co/dGeul6P1R9 pic.twitter.com/C3m1PUC4K7
– Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) 9 June 2022
The latest smear had to be retracted after the careful removal of Substack’s VP of Communications. wired cannot give an example of an “extremist” recruited by the platform.
The author says that Substack “actively recruits and pays extremists.”
We are nothing and nothing, and he cannot name instances. However, when approached, he said, “If you can provide evidence that this is not true, I would be happy to remove it.”
It doesn’t work this way.
– Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) 8 June 2022
It’s like the media accuse you of money laundering and they refuse to make changes if you don’t give them your financial statements when you protest.
This is clearly not wise. Therefore, the burden of proof is on the journalist, not on the subject.
– Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) 8 June 2022
It is now customary to use words like “extremist” not literally, but as an insult to people on the other side, as Putin calls Ukrainians “fascists”.
It’s sad when people do this, but it’s crazy when it comes to the media telling it honestly.
– Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) 8 June 2022
Happy ending to this thread: https://t.co/zCw36K1WHw
– Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) 9 June 2022
Earlier, I wrote about the media outlet’s backlash against Substack stemming from the newsletter platform’s threat to the traditional media business model. With Substack and other paid newsletters, writers and journalists have the opportunity to earn more money by breaking free from editorial shackles and becoming independent.
Not only that, Substack does not depend on ad revenue and therefore will not be challenged by threats from boycott campaigns on the left. The sub-stack is also not particularly susceptible to the threat of social media censorship or app store blacklisting, as stories are delivered directly to subscribers’ inboxes.
Overall, it’s a nightmare for the media that support censorship, and that’s probably why they’re attacking it mercilessly.
Allum Bohari is senior technical correspondent for Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s War to Delete the Trump Movement and Steal the Election. follow him Twitter @LibertarianBlue.
Source: Breitbart
