It had to happen. When someone starts to oppress free speech, it will be met with a protest.
The interest for Twitter's new no censorship competitor Gab is huge. Over 187,000 people have already signed up to participate in the ongoing beta test.
In July this year the non-profit whistleblower organization WikiLeaks called for an alternative to Twitter. The reason was that Twitter had started to censor and shut down particularly well-known conservative voices from the social media.
The openly gay Breitbart employee Milo Yiannopoulos is one of those who was banned. Former New York Times editor Robert Stacy McCain, and law professor Glenn Reynolds are other famous names banned from the service.
In the case of McCain, it is unknown why he was banned, but Reynolds was banned after having expressed himself about rioters who attack the police, raid shops and burn down buildings.
WikiLeaks was worried that the censorship would eventually affect them. The organization is hated by the American political establishment, and founder Julian Assange has been accused of both spying and rape.
Already in August a competitor called Gab announced its presence on the website Regated.com.
The purpose of the new service is to offer a platform with few or no political gatekeepers.
According to the website, "illegal pornography", "threats and terrorism" and the spread of "personal information" are the only things forbidden on Gab.
Otherwise, the service is similar to Twitter: Instead of "tweets," the written messages are called "gabs". The maximum number of characters a "gab" can contain is 300, compared to Twitter's 140. Users can vote gabs up and vote down, and users can follow each other.
The logo of Gab is a green frog reminiscent of "Pepe the frog", which has also become a symbol of the right-wing alternative in the United States. Gab's founder, however, states that the service is for everyone, not only those with certain political views.
The following month, Breitbart reported that 120,000 gabs had been sent during the first two weeks.
- The world's response to Gab can not be described as anything other than incredible, commented CEO Andrew Torba.
But so far the new social media is in a beta phase. Anyone who wants to try the new service must therefore wait in queue, and there are already over 187,000 others waiting to become members - including me.
Here is the
link if you want to sign up.
