Substack

A new essay by scholar Norman Finkelstein arguing that Israel's campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide is being shared widely, with readers citing mounting pressure on Western governments and media to name it as such. The piece ties the accusation to ongoing operations in Gaza and regional spillover into Lebanon and Syria, reigniting debate over the legal and political use of the term genocide.

Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has described Zionism as racism, according to a Substack article circulating in UK political discussions online. The claim is drawing reactions across pro-Palestinian and UK politics communities, with debate expected over whether Polanski made the remarks and what they mean for the Green Party's stance on Israel and Palestine.

A debate is resurfacing over whether artificial intelligence should be allowed to decide lethal military strikes without a human making the final call. The discussion centers on the Pentagon's ties to an AI company, with critics warning that handing life-and-death authority to machines removes accountability and raises serious ethical and legal concerns.

Commenters are accusing the Trump administration of failing to act on an AI-related controversy, saying the conduct involved seems potentially illegal yet has drawn no investigation, statement or product recall. The criticism notes the administration instead welcomed AI executives Sam Altman and Nvidia's Jensen Huang to a state dinner, citing a new Gary Marcus Substack post on the issue.

A complaint posted on Hacker News alleges that Substack is deliberately obfuscating the text of its newsletters so that browser-based reading modes, which strip away formatting for easier reading, cannot display the content. Commenters are debating whether this is an anti-reader measure to force people onto Substack's own apps and site, or a side effect of anti-scraping techniques.