Gab is an American network launched in 2016 and is popularly recognized as the “free speech social network”. It has the goal of “defending, safeguarding, and maintaining free expression online for all people,” according to its website. This network is mostly for right-wing extremists. Gab attracts banned users from other social networks. A few days after being suspended from Twitter, Donald Trump signed up for Gab and posts regularly on the social network.
Gab social network has features similar to Twitter and Facebook. Its members can post “gabs,” or postings of up to 300 characters. Unlike the other social media networks, however, Gab has practically no policies to regulate the information that users post. It also includes a paid subscription level and a retail store. It has its own web browser plug-in “Dissenter,” which generates its own comments system.
Gab Social Network Controversy
The Gab social network has become a hotbed of ‘anti-Semitic’ and ‘anti-black material, as well as conspiracy theories, since its launch. Gab has become the “go-to social networking site” for the right extremists. This is because Gab welcomes social media users banned from other platforms for violating their terms of service by posting abusive comments and harassment against other people.
As a result, Gab has become a hotspot for the neo-Nazi community. The violent neo-Nazi organizations that are linked with many deaths are often present on Gab. This helps the potential users learn more about these organizations.
Gab does not have a problem attracting members whose material would not be accepted on any other site because it was too racist, violent, or radical in nature. This is in contrast to other sites. These rules apply to all users, even those who have engaged in aggressive and unethical behavior on other sites.
Dissenter
The Dissenter is an aggregation and debate site launched by Gab on February 24, 2019. Allowing Gab users to comment on any webpage, including news items, YouTube videos, and individual social network postings. Comments created with the Dissenter extension are not under the control of the webpage owner. It allows users to make comments on sites without a comment section.
Many social networking platforms and online news sites remove individual comments, delete whole comment sections, or ban entire comment sections as a result of the filtering. Users who have registered for a Gab account can contribute content to Dissenter in a URL to a page on which they want to remark. This opens a discussion page where users may make a remark called “Dissent”; which can then be up or down-voted by other site users. Users may read and make comments while reading the particular website content by using the Dissenter browser extension.
Twitter Vs Gab
Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms. It has strengthened its implementation of hateful behavior bans including; the promotion of “violence against people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious ties, age, disability, or serious disease". It's a similar technological platform, but Gab's sole purpose is to provide unlimited free speech to all perspectives, and it's a relatively new platform, too.
Gab promotes itself as a supporter of free expression. Gab's guidelines prohibit some sorts of postings, such as threats of violence and illegal pornography. Apart from that, it employs little moderation and does not prohibit false messages or hate speeches. It does allow users to silence posts that they consider objectionable. On the other hand, Twitter does filter some of the posts that are against its guidelines. Abandoned Twitter users may now use Gab, increasing the number of users.
Is Gab mainly for the conservatives?
Gab takes pride in enabling users to publish whatever they want. Still, the site also emphasizes that one of its responsibilities is to “take action to prevent and delete any unlawful conduct in our community.” The far-right political debate on the site can range from memes to bogus conspiracy theories to insults. 'Richard Spencer' and 'Alex Jones'; are banned from more prominent social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and therefore, use this messaging app.
Users banned from other social platforms tend to switch to Gab. Gab is consequently a haven for these people; since it allows them to publish offensive and controversial material that would normally be unacceptable anyplace else. As a result of Gab’s rising controversies and all the events linked with it, we can conclude that it is a popular networking platform among conservatives and individuals who share common ideologies.
