AN influential pro-Yes newsletter has launched a website, saying he had been forced to make the move because of Twitter’s algorithm.
Jonathon Shafi, who runs the Independence Captured newsletter, announced to subscribers on Thursday he would be keeping the newsletter active while also launching a website.
He said a “fairly major falling out” between Substack, which hosts the newsletter, and Twitter meant his readership was falling because the social media platform was attempting to suppress links to the other site.
In an email to subscribers, Shafi, an occasional contributor to The National, said: “In practical terms, it means that Substack links are being throttled by the Twitter algorithm. Reach and engagement is vastly diminished, and social media previews (the images that generate when you share a link) are locked for any Substack url.
“As a non-descript hyperlink often goes unnoticed, this again decreases engagement and shares.
“This poses a challenge. Independence Captured has built up a good following and has made a bit of an impact over the last year. But the Twitter issue is a real one as the platform provides the bulk of the traffic to the newsletter.
“In addition, despite my personal misgivings about Twitter, it remains the major hub where journalists, politicians, commentators and other networks congregate. As things stand, it means that the writing on the newsletter - which takes a huge amount of time and effort - will become less visible and leave less of an imprint on the Scottish political scene.
“So I have come to a conclusion. Rather than let this be a block in the road, it will instead act as a catalyst to upgrade the project as a whole. To that end, Independence Captured will have its own website. This will allow for the widest possible social media reach. At the same time, it will be integrated with the Substack and readers of the site will be encouraged to subscribe.”
Shafi’s newsletter focuses on Scottish politics from a left-wing and pro-independence standpoint and is often deeply critical of the SNP and the Scottish Government.
The new website will be up and running in the next six to eight weeks, said Shafi.
He was also the organiser of a Yes bus which ferried Scots from Glasgow to London for Bonfire Night last year for a protest aimed at triggering a General Election.
