The rise of right-wing social media

Infograph: TBS

Several right-wing social media platforms have developed in recent years as alternatives to Twitter and Facebook. These include the leading alternative site Parler, Truth Social, Gab, Gettr, Rumble, and others. While some of these platforms have existed for a while, the removal of Donald Trump from Facebook and Twitter in the wake of the 6 January assault on the Capitol marked a turning point in the emergence of right-wing social media platforms.

Right-wingers and conservatives have since flocked to alternative platforms in an effort to establish a means of unfettered dissemination of their ideas and knowledge. These alternative technology platforms promise to be bastions of free expression with little to no regulation.

US artist Kanye West declared his intention to purchase Parler on 17 October. Parler, which calls itself the "Global Free Speech App," has gained popularity among conservatives. Kanye was recently banned from Twitter due to his inflammatory statements, which included anti-Semitic ones. Trump launched Truth Social, his own microblogging platform that is similar to Twitter after being barred from it as well.

Despite the fact that many atl-techs have emerged, they are unable to overtake Twitter and Facebook, which are already well-established. Right-wing radicals' preferred tool, while more of a messaging app than a social media, is Telegram. Outside of the US, this app is also quite popular, particularly in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Russia, and other places. 

Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world who terms himself as a free speech absolutist, has become Twitter's owner. Twitter will likely undergo significant adjustments in the meantime. Musk's political stances are becoming more and more to the right. He supports less content filtering, which permits abusive and inaccurate material, in the name of "free expression."