Did Substack Fix the Internet? 5 Lessons From the Newsletter Revolt
Did Substack fix the internet? That is the question Kyle Chayka poses in his recent Infinite Scroll column for The New Yorker. A new book by Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie argues writers today are more empowered than ever. Chayka’s published summary adds the catch: newsletters form their own kind of attention economy.
One sourcing note comes first. The New Yorker column sits behind a paywall and could not be opened directly, so this article quotes only its published summary. What follows draws on that summary, Substack’s history, and reporting on its moderation rows and feed drift.
Substack is no longer a small email tool. It has its own feed, recommendations, and attention economy. Judging whether it repaired the internet means asking what was broken, who got helped, and what arrived with the cure.
In Brief
- McKenzie’s case: writers own their lists, keep most revenue, and skip gatekeepers.
- The counter case: moderation rows, a growing feed, and competition for scarce reader attention.
- Dated scale figure: as of January 2024, a study cited by Backlinko counted over 20 million active and 3 million paying subscribers.
- The honest verdict: mixed evidence, no winner declared.
The Promise: Writers Took Back the List
Substack launched in 2017 in San Francisco, founded by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi. Publishing was free, readers could pay, and the writer kept most of the money. Substack takes 10 percent of subscription revenue, Stripe charges card fees on top, and writers keep the rest while owning their lists and content.
The company pushed further with Substack Pro, advances paid to high profile writers in 2020 and 2021. The advances bought attention as much as content, signaling a newsletter could be a career. McKenzie’s new book, as Chayka’s column presents it, extends that argument: writers today are more empowered than ever. It is the book behind the question, did Substack fix the internet?
Did Substack Fix the Internet for Writers?
Part of the empowerment case holds up, and it helps answer the question, did Substack fix the internet for writers? A writer can earn a living without an editor assigning stories or an advertiser approving topics. Niche subjects no newspaper would staff can support a full time newsletter.
But the wider case is harder. Anna Wiener asked in The New Yorker in 2020 whether Substack was the media future readers wanted, and a later academic summary noted original reported features were in the minority, with most posts offering personal writing, opinion, research, and analysis. A tool rewarding personality and frequency favors some writing over others, and investigative reporting costs more than solo subscriptions usually cover.
The money also concentrates at the top. That complicates the question, did Substack fix the internet for writers generally? A study cited by Backlinko counted over 20 million active and 3 million paying subscribers as of January 2024, yet the same study, as reported by Wefunder, found only 10 authors generating a combined 25 million dollars a year. Those are dated third party summaries, not a current count. Still, the shape is familiar: a long tail, and a small head taking most revenue.
There is also a branding catch noted by Daring Fireball’s John Gruber in August 2025. Writers are described as writing for Substack, he argued, in a way nobody says a writer writes for WordPress, Ghost, or Beehiiv. If the platform’s brand sits above the writer’s name, independence is partly rented.
The Moderation Test the Platform Could Not Dodge
In December 2023, McKenzie wrote that Substack does not think censorship, including demonetizing, makes the problem go away, adding that it makes it worse. The note came as more than 240 writers co-signed an open letter asking why the platform promotes and monetizes sites trafficking in white nationalism. One account put the count at 247.
The fallout was swift. Newton’s Platformer left, arguing platforms with viral recommendation engines must act responsibly, and pro-Nazi content should be removed rather than funded and accelerated. The Handbasket, Garbage Day, Hung Up, and Where’s Your Ed At left as well. Substack then banned a handful of Nazi affiliated accounts for incitement to violence, cited as five.
The deeper problem stayed. Newton’s later analysis found dozens of far right publications beyond the banned few, and hate speech remained eligible for promotion in Notes, the weekly digest, and other ranked surfaces. A 2025 Handbasket and Racket update reported the extremist ecosystem still flourishing, though that is that outlet’s reporting, not a verified count. A platform that recommends, ranks, and pays is no neutral pipe.
Did Substack Fix the Internet for Readers?
For readers, the promise was a calmer inbox. Substack delivered part of that, then rebuilt the feed anyway. Notes, launched in 2023, is a short form social feed inside the platform. Recommendations, digest emails, and a Follow button followed, and one summary of Atlantic coverage reports Newton gained 70,000 free subscribers in 2023 through these tools.
That drift revives the attention economy Chayka’s column points to, and it is central to the question, did Substack fix the internet for readers at all? A newsletter competes not only with other newsletters but with every feed, video, and notification. Even legacy outlets now run Substack outposts, and The New Yorker itself publishes one.
A 2026 Substack blog post voices a newer worry, AI generated slop crowding the platform, but that is one post’s sentiment, not a measured finding.
What to Watch Next
Three things will test whether newsletters keep their promise or slide into feed logic. First, whether recommendations stay a discovery aid or become the main way writers grow. Second, whether Substack publishes clearer moderation reasoning. Third, whether creator economics widen beyond the top names, because a system empowering a few stars has not settled the question, did Substack fix the internet for the rest?
Readers can watch the same signals. If your inbox feels like a timeline, the platform has drifted. If your favorite writer’s work still reaches you without a ranking step, the original promise is alive. The drift, not any book or column, will answer the question, did Substack fix the internet for good?
Quick Answers
Did Substack fix the internet? The evidence here is mixed: writers gained a direct payment line and list ownership, while moderation rows and feed drift recreated old platform problems. No source checked supports a flat yes or no.
Who founded Substack, and when? Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi launched it in San Francisco in 2017 as a publishing, payment, analytics, and design platform.
How does Substack make money? Publishing is free, readers pay through Stripe, Substack keeps 10 percent of revenue, and Stripe charges card fees. Writers keep the rest and own their lists.
Why did Platformer leave Substack? Casey Newton’s Platformer left in January 2024 over extremist content handling, arguing platforms with viral recommendation engines must act responsibly rather than fund and accelerate such content.
Is Substack still just newsletters? No. It added podcasts and threads in 2019, the Notes feed in 2023, and later video, chats, and an app, making it a full media platform.
The Takeaway
Substack changed who gets paid and who holds the list, and that change is real for writers who built audiences on it. It did not change the deeper forces: attention is scarce, ranking shapes what gets seen, and moderation forces ugly choices.
So did Substack fix the internet? The fairest answer the sources support is that it fixed one broken piece, the payment line between writer and reader, while the rest kept running. Newsletters are a better room inside the same house, and the debate Chayka’s column reopened is far from settled.
Sources and Attribution
The New Yorker, Kyle Chayka, Infinite Scroll column, whose headline asks, did Substack fix the internet? The full column could not be read directly (paywall and fetch block), so this article quotes only its published summary line about McKenzie’s book and the newsletter attention economy. The New Yorker column page is linked here for readers. Substack history and revenue model: Substack’s about page and platform coverage. Moderation history: McKenzie’s December 2023 note, the writers’ open letter, Platformer’s January 2024 exit, and later Handbasket and Racket reporting, via secondary sources. Scale figures: a study cited by Backlinko and Wefunder, dated January 2024, not current verified totals. PetaTech24 tested nothing.
