Alt-tech refers to social networking platforms popular among the alt-right, far-right, and other extremist groups. Due to minimal moderation, with a focus on free speech regardless of content, these platforms have become hubs for misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Examples of alternative social media sites include 4chan, BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram, and Truth Social.
Mainstream vs. Alt-Tech Platforms: Content Moderation and Misinformation
One of the most notable distinctions between alt-tech and mainstream platforms is how they handle altered and unreliable content. For example, mainstream platforms such as Twitter and YouTube have standards in place against modified media and information derived from hacked sources, which may be classified as hack-forge-leak. In contrast, alt-tech platforms like BitChute and Parler did not impose any limits on content, according to the research “Evaluating Content Moderation Policies and Practices of Alternative Social Media.”
Policies against hate speech and discrimination represent another significant distinction between alternative and mainstream platforms. Hate speech is typically treated as a criminal offense on mainstream platforms but is not addressed by the policies of alternative platforms. YouTube's policy states, "We remove content promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on certain attributes." In contrast, hate speech is not mentioned in BitChute's policy.
15% of Influential Accounts on Alt-Tech Platforms Banned From Mainstream Sites
The Pew Research Center examined 200 prominent accounts, selected from those with the largest number of followers on each of these platforms. Some user accounts that were banned elsewhere have been drawn to these alternative social media platforms due to their free speech policies.
The study suggests that these platforms may be a symptom of increasingly polarized public discourse. Compared to news consumers on more established social media sites, who primarily identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, 66% of those who regularly get their news from at least one of the seven alternative social media sites identify as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party.
Fifteen percent of prominent accounts on these platforms, including Donald Trump's, have had their access to more established social media sites demonetized, blocked, or suspended either indefinitely or permanently. This trend is particularly evident on the video-focused site BitChute, where more than 35% of prominent accounts have been deleted or demonetized elsewhere.
In several cases, the banning or demonetization was based on evidence that the accounts had spread misinformation and inaccurate information.
2024 American Elections and Political Polarization
Most political experts anticipate that the 2024 presidential election will be similarly polarized and potentially as violent as the 2020 election, according to the Georgetown Security Studies Review.
“I expect a tsunami of misinformation,” said Oren Etzioni, an artificial intelligence expert and professor emeritus at the University of Washington, to the Associated Press. “I can’t prove that. I hope to be proven wrong. But the ingredients are there, and I am completely terrified.”
After being banned from popular websites like Facebook and the platform formerly known as Twitter, former President Donald Trump created his social media platform, Truth Social, in early 2022.
According to Similarweb, a statistics provider that measures web traffic, Truth Social had 1.5 million unique visitors in the U.S. in March, a 130% increase from the previous month when its parent company began trading on public markets. Although the app's visitor count was small compared to popular social media platforms, it was thirteen times greater than the total number of visitors reported by Gettr and Parler combined.
In recent years, some platforms have managed to develop stable and viable alternatives for ideologically non-mainstream users across the political spectrum, in part due to an increase in political polarization. This has allowed them to maintain a relatively small but powerful and vocal user base, according to the research Politicization and Radicalization of Discourses in the Alt-Tech Ecosystem.
The Gab platform has limited itself to explicitly political topics or certain problematic discourses and content such as hate speech, misinformation, and conspiracy theories.
The platform has witnessed exceptional popularity and growth following the 2019 move to Mastodon, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. presidential elections in 2016 and 2020, along with their ensuing events.
The 4chan platform, especially its “/pol/,” an imageboard known for discussions related to politics and current events, has gained notoriety for fostering extreme views and has become a hub for alt-right discussions, particularly during the 2016 U.S. election. This board's culture often embraces hate speech and racism, drawing attention to its influence on political discourse and online extremism. As political events unfold, the site's role in shaping and amplifying radical ideologies has come under scrutiny, according to the research A Measurement Study of 4chan's Politically Incorrect Forum.
Anti-Immigrant Sentiment and Right-Wing Platforms in Europe
The analysis of audience characteristics that predict the use of right-wing alternative online media further emphasizes the significance of these websites.
The main predictors of right-wing alternative news consumption, according to the research Who Uses Right-Wing Alternative Online Media?, are political interest and a negative attitude toward immigration. This finding is corroborated by other studies that demonstrate that right-wing media primarily focuses on criticizing immigration and immigration-related policies.
The findings indicate that, while not extremely high, the frequency of right-wing alternative internet media consumption is sufficient to conclude that it should not be undervalued or dismissed as a niche issue. Additionally, these platforms may need to be viewed as significant players with strong polarizing and mobilizing potential.
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