Damn, that sucks. Sorry you had to go through that. I wish these platforms cared about the folks who support them and not only their bottom line or appeasing the racist and bigoted "free speechers." Perhaps the CEO will realize his mistake when people start leaving Substack.

Someone (I forget who) way back in the days of my early blogging told me that having your own platform (e.g., blog, website) was the only way to ensure you were in complete control. The main advantage of these big platforms is that they do a lot of the marketing for you, get you in front of people that you would have to find on your own. They certainly don't pay writers what they're worth, that's for sure.

My only advice right now would be to wait until after 5/14 (when Mercury goes direct) to make a final decision about leaving Substack and joining a new platform. Let this time be one of REsearch to determine which one is the best one for you.

Looking forward to your decision and which platform you've chosen.