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Casey Newton won't compromise on Nazis.

In a world in which it can be difficult to read the moral compass of some legacy news organizations, the renowned technology journalist and founder of the independent digital news outlet Platformer has taken decisive action to ensure his media company lives up to its own stated values and principles — even when such decisions are laced with risk and potential business repercussions.

Over the past several months, Newton has made difficult decisions to sever relationships and move Platformer (which you can subscribe to here) off both Substack and X, the platform formally known as Twitter. Both companies have declined to engage in basic content moderation, allowing hate and other forms of toxic content to swell on their respective platforms. For Newton, maintaining a presence on both X and Substack violated both his personal and business' moral constitution. 

"A big part of it was can we sleep at night?" Newton rhetorically asked me by phone Thursday, noting the decisions were made in conjunction with his managing editor Zoë Schiffer. "Do we feel good about where we are spending our time? Do we feel good about who we are building value for? And in the cases of X and Substack, the answers were no."

Newton explained that X owner Elon Musk is in "open warfare against journalists on the platform," adding he "truly had no idea" why any journalist or news organization would choose to contribute to it. In the case of Substack, Newton expressed disappointment that the newsletter publisher had strenuously resisted calls to prohibit "literal 1930s-style Nazis" from building — and monetizing — audiences.

For a journalist whose job it is to call out other companies for maintaining questionable business relationships, Newton said it would have not only been ethically dubious for him to ignore the decisions X and Substack were making, but hypocritical as well.

"I am writing all the time about how companies are failing to live up to their stated values," Newton told me. "And then here I am on these platforms overrun by far-right actors, transphobes, those who traffic in anti-LGBTBQ rhetoric — and so, given a large part about what Platformer is, our readers are going to hold us to a high standard."

Newton's moves have caught the eye of the journalistic community for their bold and principled nature. They have also raised questions about whether establishment newsrooms, which have far more scale and resources than independent publishers, should take similar stands and be more judicious about the relationships they maintain. Outside NPR, which stopped posting on X last year, major news organizations have continued publishing their content to Musk's social platform, despite his open and repugnant anti-press conduct.

Newton said he does have empathy for publishers, both big and small, who "want to rock the boat as little as possible because the economics of the news business are so tough." As he pointed out, some are just trying to "keep the lights on" and being forced to slash costs. But Newton also made a case for news organizations taking a stand when the values that they profess to uphold fall under attack and are brazenly violated by companies in which they are maintaining a relationship. 

"I think it's good for publishers to be public about their values and then live up to their values," Newton said, adding that he believes there "is an argument to be made that you can increase trust by telling readers where you as a publisher, draw the line, and then live up to that."

Sometimes drawing that line might come at an economic cost, Newton acknowledged. Platformer, he said, had benefited from Substack's recommendation algorithm which suggests its readers subscribe to various other newsletters hosted by the platform. That algorithm engine, Newton added, had accelerated the number of non-paying subscribers to Platformer. 

"My expectation is we are going to grow a lot more slowly on the free side this year," Newton candidly acknowledged. "The flip side of that, from a business perspective, those free users did not monetize ... So we are giving up a lot of growth, but I'm not sure we are giving up a lot of paid growth." 

Regardless of any potential business cost, Newton indicated to me that the decisions to abandon X and Substack were, ultimately, the right calls to make. He joked that his "hope for the rest of 2024 is that we will not be talking about Platformer's platform of choice." But he stressed such matters are ones he takes seriously (especially given the name of his company).

"There will be those times that you have to take a stand," Newton said. "And I think people will remember that."

———  BELOW THE FOLD  ———

Peltz's Power Play: The Magic Kingdom is coming under attack — from within. Activist investor Nelson Peltz on Thursday kicked off his campaign against Bob Iger and Disney management, officially submitting a proxy statement explaining why he and former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo should be elected to the board. But Peltz isn't stopping there. His Trian Fund Management launched a website (RestoreTheMagic.com), outlining five specific areas of concern with the entertainment juggernaut, including streaming profitability and the future of ESPN. In a statement, Peltz faulted current management for having "repeatedly failed to properly plan for CEO succession, misaligned the incentives of management, and failed to oversee or drive a strategy to get the streaming business to profitability or the studios to produce good content." Appearing on CNBC, Peltz said of him and Rasulo, "We're going to be Batman and Robin." (I must say, it's strange to invoke two characters that aren't in the Disney IP vault! Anyway, I digress.) CNBC's Alex Sherman has all the details here.

Layoffs in LA: The tough times at the Los Angeles Times are not ending with the exit of Executive Editor Kevin Merida. The newspaper, which houses the largest newsroom out west, said Thursday it does expect to slash its workforce. "Given the recent discussions about our economic challenges and the potential for staff reductions, we wanted to share an update," the company said in a memo to employees. "We do anticipate layoffs." The memo added that management is "currently in discussions" with The Guild "about how to proceed," saying that the union "is asking for buyouts prior to any layoffs" and management is stressing "more flexibility" would "allow the company to save 50 Guild positions." A spokesperson confirmed to me that The LAT anticipates layoffs, adding that "the hardest decisions to make are those that impact our employees, and we do not come to any such decisions lightly." The Daily Beast's Corbin Bolies has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: The NYT's Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson point out that billionaires Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Marc Benioff, and Jeff Bezos are all "losing a fortune" with investments in news: "As the prospects for news publishers waned in the last decade, billionaires swooped in to buy some of the country’s most fabled brands. ... But it increasingly appears that the billionaires are struggling just like nearly everyone else."

Considering Carlson: Could Tucker Carlson be selected as Donald Trump's running mate? Donald Trump Jr. doesn't think it's out of the question. Appearing Thursday on Newsmax, host Rob Finnerty asked, "Don, is your dad serious about Tucker Carlson? Are those rumors serious?" Trump Jr. said that it would "clearly be on the table" and that "they're friendly" and "agree on virtually" all the major issues. "I would love to see that happen," he added. "That would certainly be a contender." Mediaite's Jennifer Bowers Bahney has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: Whether Carlson would want to be No. 2 to Trump is unclear. As he tries to launch his own media company after being unceremoniously booted from the Fox News lineup, Carlson has certainly tried tying himself to Trump. But, as private messages released as part of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit revealed, the right-wing media personality also trashed Trump in private, calling him a "demonic force," among other things. 

Eyes on Vision: Will Apple sell out of its highly anticipated Vision Pro ahead of its official launch? Or will it be a rare Apple fumble? We're about to find out. The $3,500 augmented reality goggles will be made available for pre-sale on Friday morning. It's, without question, a big moment for Tim Cook, with a lot riding on the success of the pricey devices. But there are some early signs that there is some trouble in Cupertino. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Ashley Carman reported Thursday that YouTube and Spotify will join Netflix in snubbing the Vision Pro, not launching apps on the Apple devices. And Bloomberg's Ryan Vlastelica argued that the device "lacks blockbuster buzz needed to energize shares." 

The Super Bowl Singers: The performances for Super Bowl LVIII are set. The NFL announced Thursday that Post Malone, Reba McEntire, and Andra Day will perform at the game, with the artists performing the national anthem, "America the Beautiful," and "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Usher will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. CNN's Marianne Garvey has more here. 

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Rob McLean as Jon Passantino is off. It was produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email. You can follow us on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. We will see you back in your inbox next week.