Gab: Censorship-Proof Free Speech Social Media Network?

Gab is an ad-free, censor-proof social media protocol. Find out how it works today in our review.

What is Gab?

Gab is a project that seeks to create a revolutionary ad-free, censor-proof social media protocol “created for people who believe in free speech, individual liberty and the free flow of information online.”

In other words, Gab is a censorship-proof P2P social media protocol. The social media platform will also exist without advertisements.

Gab was launched on the iOS and Android app store in 2017 before quickly being banned for promoting hate speech. Today, by launching its app in a decentralized environment, Gab aims to continue to allow hate speech on the platform while avoiding hate speech censorship from Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other tech companies.

What Problems Does Start Engine – Gab Seek to Solve?

Gab aims to create an ad-free, censor-proof social media protocol. The platform is designed for people who believe in free speech and free information flows online.

The creators of Gab believe that today’s social media platforms only give users the illusion of choice. Users are constrained with the ways in which they communicate, network, find information, and discover news online.

We believe that we have choices when it comes to communicating, networking, and finding information online. However, this choice is only an illusion:

“…the general public is gradually coming to see that their internet experience is increasingly being shaped and influenced by a handful of companies with their own special interests and agendas at stake,” explains Gab on the official website.

Gab aims to solve that problem with a freedom-based, community-oriented approach. The platform seeks to overcome today’s digital landscape dominated by “special interests or the old guard of Silicon Valley.”

Gab has firsthand experience with the problems of today’s centralized internet: the platform started as a single, centralized application built on the existing internet infrastructure. Soon, the company learned that centralized gatekeepers could prevent anyone from building and distributing an application. The app was blocked from the iOS and Android app stores for “hate speech”, for example. The company’s domain registrar was also threatened after Gab became known as a platform for hate speech.

Gab aims to solve these problems by launching its own decentralized network. That network will still feature hate speech – but it won’t be censored by big tech companies.

How Does Gab Work?

Gab aims to create a social media platform that emphasizes censorship-proof social networking, free speech, individual liberties, and the free flow of information online.

Of course, it’s easy to say these things: it’s harder to create a platform that actually accomplishes these goals. So how does Gab plan to accomplish these things?

One of the key features of Gab is called the “Exodus Protocol.”. The Exodus Protocol is an open, peer-to-peer social media protocol built on top of existing open source peer-to-peer technology – including Dat Project, IPFS, and existing cryptographic peer-to-peer protocols.

The Exodus Protocol will form the core layers of the Gab social media network.

That social media network will bring together users “of all races, religions, and creeds.” However, the Gab website specifically mentions that the platform will emphasize “Western values”, including “individual liberty and the free exchange of ideas.”

Some of the core functions of the platform include:

Providing users with the tools they need to create and shape their own online experience
Help users avoid censorship on other social media platforms
Allow users to upload and stream their own videos
Gab will not censor content based on viewpoint

The Exodus Protocol aims to compete against alternative platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and others, emphasizing a platform free of ideological censorship.

Features of Gab

Gab and its Exodus Protocol will offer all of the following features:

Online TV: Gab will have livestream broadcasts and video content, similar to Twitch and other live streaming platforms.
Live Topics: Gab will have crowdsourced information on current news and events.
Chat Rooms: Gab will have private group chats that allow users to securely interact with one another.

Will Gab Allow Any Type of Speech?

Obviously, all social networks claim to offer the same thing that Gab is offering: all social networks claim to give users a voice regardless of their race or political leaning.

Every social network, however, runs into the same problems: at which point does free speech cross into hate speech? At which point does hate speech advocate violence?

Gab claims they’re not catering to any specific political movement. However, the Gab website prominently features images of Trump supporters and similar right-wing media – so the service appears to cater to that side of the political spectrum.

America is one of several countries in the world where hate speech is legally allowed: citizens are allowed to practice hate speech against specific groups or demographics. Most democracies have free speech laws, but not all free speech laws specifically protect hate speech. America’s free speech laws do protect hate speech.

Start Engine – Gab will freely allow hate speech on its platform. It does not plan to restrict hate speech in any way. However, it will draw the line at some point. Here’s how the website explains their censorship:

“Gab does not advocate hate speech. In fact, Gab terms state that it “treats all people with respect and dignity, regardless of their background, origins and point of view. But while Gab prohibits rhetoric that advocates violence or illegal activity and allows users to block hateful speech, Gab does not forbid any speech based solely on viewpoint.”

In other words, Gab is totally okay with hate speech on its platform. They will not forbid any type of hate speech. The only time the platform will take action is when that hate speech promotes violence or committing illegal actions.

Specific rules on the platform include:

No “doxing” or sharing of private information
No threats of violence or “promotion of terrorism” (what?)
No spamming
No illegal pornography

Aside from these rules, it’s “anything goes” on Gab.

Who’s Behind Start Engine – Gab?

Gab AI Inc. is a Delaware C Corp that plans to transition into a Public Benefit B Corp. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Andrew Torba. Prior to Gab, Torba co-founded and acted as CEO of Y Combinator-backed Automate Ads, an ad-tech company that was later sold to Adhawk.

Gab was co-founded by Ekrem Büyükkaya (CTO). The company was founded in 2016. They’re headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Gab Conclusion

Gab is a social media platform that emphasizes freedom of speech. The platform was banned from the iOS and Android app stores in 2017 for promoting hate speech. In response to that ban, the company decided to launch its own decentralized app. That app will be built on peer-to-peer protocols like the Dat Project and IPFS, as well as its own Exodus Protocol.

Gab will create a censorship-free environment. The platform will not specifically promote hate speech – however, they’ll take no action to ban hate speech or restrict it in any way (unless that hate speech advocates violence or illegal activity).

Although Gab claims to cater to people of all creeds, nationalities, and backgrounds, it appears to be attracting a mostly far-right audience.

To learn more about Gab and its unique social media goals, visit its crowdfunding page online today at: https://www.startengine.com/gab-select.

https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/gab/