Algorithmic checks fuel Substack churn

Platforms' visible credibility markers (e.g., Substack 'purple checks') plus attention features (Notes, video) can privilege celebrity or partisan migration over sustained craft, creating a feed where low-effort, high-signal posts crowd out substantive independent voices. This dynamic produces a recognizably branded phenomenon ('Sludgestack') that reshapes who can build an audience and which ideas get amplified. — If platforms convert reputational badges and UI features into cultural authority, public attention — and therefore political influence — will increasingly be set by product teams and algorithmic nudges rather than journalistic or academic quality.