The email newsletter service and popular blogging platform Substack – used by numerous British comic creators to promote their work – has suffered a data breach. The company is warning users to take extra caution with any emails or text messages you receive that may be suspicious. No financial information has been accessed.
British independent publishers with accounts on Substack include ourselves, as Crucible Comic Press, ComicScene, and Time Bomb Comics, and creators such as ILYA, Antony Johnston, Chris Riddell and many others.
downthetubes is not hosted on Substack.
Here’s the letter sent out by Chris Best, CEO of Substack, in full:
I’m reaching out to let you know about a security incident that resulted in the email address and phone number from your Substack account being shared without your permission.
I’m incredibly sorry this happened. We take our responsibility to protect your data and your privacy seriously, and we came up short here.
What happened. On February 3rd, we identified evidence of a problem with our systems that allowed an unauthorized third party to access limited user data without permission, including email addresses, phone numbers, and other internal metadata. This data was accessed in October 2025. Importantly, credit card numbers, passwords, and financial information were not accessed.
What we are doing. We have fixed the problem with our system that allowed this to happen. We are conducting a full investigation, and are taking steps to improve our systems and processes to prevent this type of issue from happening in the future.
What you can do. We do not have evidence that this information is being misused, but we encourage you to take extra caution with any emails or text messages you receive that may be suspicious.
This sucks. I’m sorry. We will work very hard to make sure it does not happen again.
– Chris Best, CEO of Substack
Last year, Substack faced a user revolt after they defended hosting and handling payments for “Nazis” on its platform, citing anti-censorship reasons.
The Guardian and other news media reported how, in a note on the site published in December, the chief writing officer, Hamish McKenzie, said the firm “doesn’t like Nazis”, and wished “no one held these views”.
But he said the company did not think that censorship – by demonetising sites that publish extreme views – was a solution to the problem, and instead made it worse.
Some of the largest newsletters on the service threatened to take their business elsewhere if Substack did not reverse its stance.
Last May, Arikia Millikan, writing on Re:Publica, noting Substack’s founders refusal to remove Nazis and the exodus, that followed had left many independent publishers asking “where do we go now?”
“The answer is not as simple as ‘if you don’t like it go somewhere else.’, Arikia pondered. “Unplugging from a creator platform can be like asking someone to quit their full-time job, especially when platforms make it difficult for users to transfer subscriber data.
“Fortunately, creator platforms for journalists are still in their infancy. It’s not too late to counter dangerous trends in platform design before serious monopolies form. Understanding how a platform operates before you invest your time and data there will help you make decisions more aligned with your values. The fall of legacy publications poses an exciting opportunity for a new class of journalistic platforms to emerge, and journalists who are impervious to platform collapse!”
Alternatives by many appalled by Substack’s response include Beehiv and Ghost. The latter offers a comparison of the differences between Ghost and Substack for creators and publishers running a premium newsletter here.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Creating Comics, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
Daleks invade Cartoonists Club of Great Britain 
In Memoriam: Comic Artist, Game Designer Vu Danh 
Annual Cartoon Museum Conference returns next month 
Comics: The Famous & Forgotten Exhibition opens at The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven
Leave a Reply