Welcome to the thirty-eight episode of Dan Fournier’s Down the Rabbit Hole podcast.
Guest: Bill Rice Jr.
Based in Troy, Alabama, Bill Rice Jr. is a freelance journalist who contributes articles to the prestigious Brownstone Institute and publishes on his main site billricejr.substack.com.
In this podcast episode we discuss the research and findings Bill has uncovered regarding the suppression of contents like ours and other so-called conservative voices in contrast to the amplification of left-leaning Democratic ones which now seem to make up the majority of the Substack platform.
What triggered this phenomenon? Why is it happening? Who are the winners and losers? What are possible solutions? Find out in this must-watch episode.
Alternative Podcast Links, listen on:
Spreaker (download the .mp3 for later listening)
Show Time Stamps
[00:00 to 00:50] Podcast intro.
[00:51 to 8:10] Welcoming my guest Bill Rice Jr. I ask Bill to provide some background information about himself and what led him to become a freelance journalist. He explains his beginnings on Substack and initial success on the platform, thereafter noting how his viewership metrics started to decline about a year and a half ago. We both remarked our appreciation for Substack in letting voices like ours be heard; however, we do express our concern about some of its recent trends.
[08:11 to 19:24] Here, we start discussing what’s really been going on with Substack and I begin by asking my guest to elaborate on his investigative piece titled Substack’s Nazi problem’ - By the Numbers. Bill elaborates how the platform has essentially been under a coordinated attack by the mainstream press with The Atlantic being a notable culprit. Bill says that it is largely about maintaining mainstream narratives for which I largely agree. (see Show Notes and Rabbit Short video clip below for more details on this coordinated attack and Bill’s article)
[19:25 to 23:25] In this segment, we follow-up on his article, focusing on how “Democrat writers dominate the MSM and, now, Substack,” as Bill had noted in his article. The numbers that Bill presents are astounding - such as that 95.75% of the top Substack newsletters are now largely dominated by Democrat/Progressive/Liberal-leaning voices, as their channels have enjoyed tremendous growth compared to the more Conservative/Contrarian voices. He cites specific Substack authors from both sides of the fault line, along with their metrics which clearly validates his initial assessment on the matter.
[23:26 to 29:56] Sticking with this same article and section, Bill mentions how hundreds or thousands of “refugees” from the dying MSM (e.g., Jim Acosta previously with CNN who now has over 331k subscribers, Paul Krugman who was a financial columnist for the New York Times and now has over 464k subs, and Bari Weiss previously from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times) have more recently started Substack Newsletters experiencing rapid subscriber growth. And one of his takeaways reads: “In contrast, Substack authors who challenge conventional wisdom or might identify as conservative or libertarian are either losing subscribers … or the rate of growth of their newsletters has been massively lower than “Democrat” newsletters.”
[29:57 to 36:25] Here, Bill explains how an apparent [coordinated] smear campaign against Substack (see here, here, here, here, here, here and here from mainstream media) led to curious changes which he believes stemmed from a substantive threat against the founders of this platform. He further posited that this likely resulted in a pro-active campaign to recruit and then amplify writers writers and public figures who support the Leftist/Globalist/Democratic POV.
[36:26 to 51:36] To conclude the analysis of Bill’s Substack’s Nazi problem’ - By the Numbers article, we examine the piece that seems to have launched this smear campaign, namely The Atlantic’s November 28, 2023 article titled How Substack Became a Safe Space for Nazis by Jonathan M. Katz. I began by offering my own personal assessment on it which I see as nothing other than an obvious propaganda hit piece. Bill offers his take on it. I also mentioned how the CIA actually writes stories for the MSM, particularly as exposed in the former German journalist Udo Ulfkotte’s book titled Presstitutes Embedded in the Pay of the CIA: A Confession from the Profession. (see related Show Notes below for more information on The Atlantic’s hit piece)
[51:37 to 1:07:38] As Bill has written other articles (such as this one) on this “Substack Problem” or worrisome trend, he summarises what other vermin he’s uncovered under this rug. Interestingly, during Bill’s response he sparked a hypothesis on my part: how bots may actually be used in Substack to amplify subscriber counts, only to be later employed to reduce these same subscription bases of authors. Of course, it is only conjecture on my part, but I do believe it has some merit since I’ve experienced this very phenomenon when I was on the X platform. (see the related Rabbit Short video clip below I created about our bot discussion)
[1:07:39 to 1:18:35] A discussion on censorship trends on Substack wouldn’t be complete without examining the recent unscrupulous behaviours of Stripe who is the main payment processor to authors for the platform. I first noted how significant authors and contrarian voices such as Dr. Robert Malone had been targeted by Stripe (see my own talk with Dr. Malone on this) as were Israel critics Efrat Feningson and Kevin Barret who recently got completely demonetised by the payment processor. I also observed that I had recently watched a video by Glenn Greenwald ironically titled ‘Substack CEO on Protecting Writers from Speech Crackdowns’ whereby he interviewed Chris Best who is one of the founders of Substack; and, interestingly, it was mentioned that Substack partners with an outfit called Fire.org whose President Greg Lukianoff is a quite “vocal supporter of Israel,” according to Greenwald. I thus ask Bill what he’s found in relation to the strong arm of censorship by Stripe and what subjects now appear to be taboo for the platform.
[1:18:36 to 1:23:00] Here, importantly, we explore some possible Solutions for authors with regards to these worrying shadow-banning/de-amplifying/censorship trends occurring on Substack. One of Bill’s solutions which I greatly appreciated is to localise so to speak. For instance, Bill has a second Substack called The Troy Citizen which helps reach his local community in Troy, Alabama. (see Show Notes below for more on this Solutions aspect)
[1:23:01 to 1:27:07] For my last question, I ask Bill what topics he usually writes about on his main Substack, billricejr.substack.com.
[1:27:08 to 1:29:45] Wrapping up, Bill shares the best places where people can follow and support his work. (also be sure to check out the links at the end of this post)
[1:29:45 to 1:32:22] Outro (song) - White Rabbit by Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane.
Show Notes
Bill’s articles in this podcast
‘Substack’s Nazi problem’ - By the Numbers (Oct. 1, 2025)
Bill’s October 1, 2025 article Substack’s Nazi problem’ - By the Numbers serves as the main anchor for our discussion surrounding the funny business, shenanigans, or curious metrics that have been occurring for at least a year and half now on the popular Substack platform.
Results from my Substack Reader Study (Oct. 2, 2025)
Bill ran a very interested experiment that rendered remarkable findings for which every Substack author ought to be cognizant of. Click on the following image link to access the article.
The Atlantic’s propaganda hit piece
For one of my questions, I refer an article from The Atlantic (which is essentially a mouthpiece for NATO) which Bill referenced in his own article as the launchpad for the coordinated attack or smear campaign against Substack and its founders.
Seeing it as a classic piece of propaganda, I firstly observed and remarked the following from the hit piece:
The article’s lede reads: “The newsletter platform’s lax content moderation creates an opening for white nationalists eager to get their message out;”
So, we can see right off the bat what they are insinuating or trying to convey and that is likely to indeed be a hit piece;
In the very first paragraph, they immediately pull the anti-Semitism card, and state that the platform “propagates white supremacy” – which I believe Bill has largely debunked in his post;
The article further states that Substack is “amplifying anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” as well as ones that “accuse Jews of “occupying” the U.S. Government.” which is not really a stretch if one is to browse Members of Congress’ donations from Israel;
The author of the piece, Jonathan M. Katz, also takes a swing at X and Elon Musk stating the “rapid erosion” of the platform.
This is a very telling segment of the interview. So, I invite you to listen from the 36:26 mark of our talk.
Solutions
Complaining about the current problem or trend that certain Substack authors face with regards to decreased visibility, viewership, subscribers and so forth will change nothing.
Therefore, as with any kind of shadow-banning or censorship, creative solutions by authors remains the best defense.
From the 1:18:36 mark of the interview, we discuss ways in which those who are experiencing declines in viewership and dwindling subscriber counts can mitigate these negative effects and even attack more viewers and paid subscribers.
One such solution – which is popular for freedom-loving individuals – is to localise (one’s content).
As a practical example of this, Bill mentioned that he started a second Substack to help inform and serve his local community in Troy, Alabama.
Bill’s other Substack – Troy Citizen
The main advantage of starting a localised Substack in one’s own region, city, or town, is that it can address the needs of the local community.
It can provide local citizens with news stories or other items of interest that affect their respective communities. Whether it’s tainted food or water supplies, geoengineering, new bills or laws coming into effect, or whatnot, the fact is that independent voices can provide rich contents which bring value to local residents. Such information may not be available by local news networks. So, it is a way to inform and empower locals, making them more aware of certain happenings so that they can be more proactive in their lifestyle choices.
Moreover, I suggested that printed copies of articles or a newsletter from the local Substack can be posted around town along with the URL of the Substack to attract more followers and increase visibility.
It certainly appears that the powers that be, i.e., those behind the suppression of authors’ contents who have an unswerving need to maintain control over narratives, will stop at nothing to silence contrarian voices and those who speak truth and expose their nefarious agendas.
Part of their modus operandi is to beat us down with demoralisation tactics as revealed in this podcast in order to discourage and silence us.
But this is where independent content creators like us must double-down in our convictions and make or voices even louder than before, finding creative and unobstructed ways to reach our respective audiences.
To conclude, if you are a Substack author who has been experiencing the negative effects on this platform as described in today’s podcast episode, don’t despair and don’t leave! Rather, learn how to mitigate them to amplify your voice even more than before.
One such way is to foster and nourish relationships with like-minded content creators on Substack and cross-post some of their contents you find valuable.
Another way is to support fellow authors with a Paid subscription to their stack. We can band together and find strength in numbers and shared values.
If you can’t afford a Paid subscription to another’s Substack, you can post comments on their articles rather than just quickly hitting that like (heart) icon.
Engagement is very powerful on this platform. Consequently, the more users and content creators engage in discussions, the more our voices get amplified.
Being respectful and constructive with comments is also key. TPTB want to keep us divided, and algorithms on social media platforms (probably including this one) foster or enable this kind of destructive behaviour. Therefore, keep this in mind when commenting on others’ work and efforts.
If you are so inclined, please cross-post this post in order to get the word out and remind other content creators about the reason we came to this Substack platform in the first place. We came here to amplify our voices, not get it suppressed like on other mainstream social media platforms.
Rabbit Shorts
Coordinated Hit Job on Substack
In this clip, Bill explains how outlets from the mainstream media appear to have conducted a coordinated attack or smear campaign against Substack and its founders using the infamous Nazi label as the main driver.
Are BOTS Creeping in as Subscribers on Substack?
In this second podcast teaser clip, we explore the possibility that bots may have infiltrated Substack and are artificially inflating writers’ subscriber counts.
Signing Off
You can follow Bill’s work via the following outlets:
Substack: billricejr.substack.com
Local Substack: thetroycitizen.substack.com
His articles on Brownstone: brownstone.org/author/bill-rice/
What are your thoughts on any of the subjects discussed in this podcast?
Are you a Substack author?
Have you experienced viewership or subscription declines?
Have you experienced other adverse things in relation to your stack?
What are your favourite Substacks/authors and why?
Do you think Substack is now suppressing Conservative or Contrarian voices and/or amplifying Progressive/Liberal/Democratic ones?
What are your thoughts on Stripe which is the main payment processor for Substack?
What would you do if ever Substack decides to implement an age-verification scheme which would require readers to submit biometrics to view articles/contents on the platform?
Do you think that bots may be used on the Substack platform, and if so for what purposes?
Apart from Substack, what alternative sources/sites do you like to use to obtain news and information?
Should Bill start his own podcast?
Feel free to leave them in the Comments section below.
Learn more about Dan Fournier’s Down the Rabbit Hole podcast and the meaning behind its name:
I also came across another great video that explains the Mad Truth of Alice in Wonderland & Why It Matters:
Signing off with Grace Slick’s White Rabbit:
Follow me on NOSTR and PickAx.
See you next time.
Plea for your Support
Here are different ways you can support me:
Get a monthly subscription ($5/month) to my Substack
Get a yearly subscription ($50/year) to my Substack
Become a Founding Member ($100) to my Substack
Disclaimer:
See the author’s About page for full disclaimer.
