If you believe the core concept of the internet is freedom of speech, there’s a new social network just for you.
Gab.ai, which launched just shy of a month ago, is a new social network for users who believe in their right to free expression, no matter whom it may offend. Gab has already garnered quite a bit of attention, with 12,000 users and 42,000 more waitlisted so far, according to Buzzfeed News.
Founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andrew Torba, (an open Donald Trump supporter), the site claims to offer almost limitless freedom of expression. The only restrictions here are against threats of violence, illegal pornography, and doxxing (releasing someone’s personal information without their consent). The site has some basic Twitter-like follow mechanics, and the ability to upvote or downvote posts in your feed like on Reddit.
Social media networks Facebook and Twitter have been under fire lately for varying reasons. For Facebook, it began in earnest recently with the revelation that the company may be tailoring its trending section to keep out certain stories. In Twitter’s case, it’s been a long-time struggle for victims to receive any help in cases of online abuse. Bearing that in mind, a lot of people were chagrined by Twitter’s speedy removals of any Olympic footage posted online, thanks to NBC’s exclusive rights to broadcast in the US.
In addition to all of that, a lot of groups view both major social networks as overbearing, censoring the unnecessary and essentially “coddling” their user base. Let’s not forget Twitter’s permaban of controversial Internet personality Milo Yiannopoulos, for instigating a harassment campaign against Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones. Though the move was fairly straightforward to most users, some questioned the ethicality of the ban.
So it’s no real surprise that Gab is now finding some popularity, though how long it lasts is anyone’s guess. And how does Torba plan to regulate harassment in a free speech medium? Self policing of course. “What makes the entirely left-leaning Big Social monopoly qualified to tell us what is ‘news’ and what is ‘trending’ and to define what ‘harassment’ means?” said Torba in an email to Buzzfeed. “It didn’t feel right to me, and I wanted to change it, and give people something that would be fair and just.”
Users are given tools to filter posts they say based on flagged words, mute certain users, or only view posts from verified users. But Torba has said that’s the end of it, Gab will not step in to moderate or censor anything. In fact, the website’s homepage carries a now infamous quote by British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie: “What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”
Again, how long the website’s popularity lasts is anyone’s game. It’s highly likely Gab may never be more than a glorified chat room, considering the universal draw of other social networks in comparison to its own community of disgruntled ex-Facebook and Twitter users. But if Gab.ai ever does take off, we might have a real problem on our hands. Social networks with minimal policing are a nest for troublemakers among the innocent bystanders, we’ve already seen this with 4chan. In which case, Torba might one day have to backtrack a teensy bit on his complete freedom of expression, and that’s the day Gab.ai becomes like any other social network.
