Posted on by

Why “Free Speech” Social Networks Become Bastions of Hate and Fail

Reading Time: 7 minutes.
Text from Devin Nunes claiming that no one is on Twitter. It has tens of thousands of interactions on... Twitter.

Short answer: no.

What do you do when you’re a racist, sexist, homophobe, transphobe, anti-Semite, Islamophobe, and/or nationalist? Well, you try to share your hate, inspire others to hate, and convince others to take to violence. That’s the end goal of all hate speech. Most platforms have banned the worst of these though. Twitter won’t take in people who spout hate. Facebook allows a lot of hate speech, but has been labeling fake news more frequently lately. YouTube is still a bastion for hate, but only if you have enough followers. Where do you go if you want to spout your vile beliefs?

You find a “free speech” network, which caters to society’s most derogatory individuals.

But those networks are rife with their own issues. No one wants to host the sites and be a home to violence and hate. Few knowledgeable engineers want to assist in hate speech, so the sites and apps are often rife with bugs. The apps offer nothing original outside of “post whatever you want [as long as it’s bigoted trash],” making it boring. Finally, and perhaps the largest nail in the coffin, is the fact that the people there have already been recruited by their local KKK chapter. You can’t “redpill” and brainwash an impressionable middle-class white teenager who has already joined your cause! What’s the fun of being a “provocateur” if everyone just nods in agreement?

These sites fail. They get a small number of users, then flounder until they’re forgotten. Parler, a similar app, has risen in popularity. But signs show that it’s a bubble waiting to burst already.

Parler

App Store Screenshot showing Parler in the 133 spot for free aps, below Dropbox, Crunchyroll, and ROMWE

I mean, at least we know there are more dedicated fans of anime than Parler users on iOS?

 

Parler got started in August of 2018 as a “free speech” network. In two years, it gained less than a million users. A recent boom lead to one million users joining the app, in part driven by Trump’s frustration with Twitter. Many of his supporters, including large name Republicans like Ted Cruz, went to Parler. You can read all about it on their Twitter pages.

Supposedly, the site is nearing 2 million registrations, though doesn’t say how many of these users are active, and at least 1 million of those were only very recent, within the past two months. Many politicians who “left” Twitter for Parler are still on Twitter, and sharing more on Twitter than Parler. Furthermore, those who do go over find that the network isn’t as “free speech-friendly” as they claim. It turns out, those critical of conservatives won’t last long there.

Not Free Speech, Right-Wing Speech

Devin Nunes’ Cow, a political activist critical of Devin Nunes, a popular right-wing politician and Parler darling, was banned after just one post, a photo of a cow holding a sign that read, “Devin is a loser!” That’s it. That’s the whole post. Look at it.

A cow in a car, holding a sign that says "Devin is a loser!"

It’s kinda cute.

Devin Nunes’ Cow is a parody account created to criticize Devin Nunes. Satire, humor, and political commentary certainly falls under “free speech.” However, the account was the source of a lawsuit. Devin Nunes tried to sue Twitter over the parody account. His case was tossed out, but clearly, he had some sore feelings. Enough to push Parler into banning the satirical account shortly after it was created. While Twitter may not pick sides, Parler was quick to support the Republican politician.

Parler is a safe place for people who have been banned from all other networks for hate speech. For example, Laura Loomer, best known for her viral statement that she was late for a conference because she couldn’t find a non-Muslim cab or Uber driver, has an account over at Parler. She’s free to preach hate and conspiracy theories about mass shootings, but a single person critical of Devin Nunes is too much for Parler to handle.

Other users said they were banned after posting Black Lives Matter. Others, frustrated with their voices being censored, started trolling. They just posted photos of crap or videos of people defecating in film (that Dumb and Dumber scene being a popular one). These people were also banned, and perhaps rightfully so. However, it’s certainly not in the spirit of “free speech,” it’s just a site that protects hate speech. That seems to be its only defining quality.

Nothing Unique

You go to Facebook for your connections to real people, to share news and photos, and for Facebook Messenger. You go to Twitter for news, tweets from politicians, to follow fandoms and creators, and to voice your own opinions. Instagram’s for photos, videos, and other creative outlets. TikTok to be spied on (also for the freshest memes). But Parler? Parler has nothing that Twitter doesn’t already have. You can do all the same things on Twitter that you can do on Parler, if you’re not preaching hate or violence. That means when people want to make their voice heard, they get to choose between two rooms. One has a huge crowd. The other is a small room with 20 people. Which do you go to?

Parler offers nothing unique. It’s Twitter without the users. Its only claim to fame is “free speech,” which is limited to “free speech for conservatives only.” It’s a safe space for the alt-right, and, frankly, not even the alt-right really wants that. What good is trolling if no one gets trolled?

Why Hate Fails

No Audience

Parler claims they are approaching 2 million users. Many of those could be trolls there to annoy right-wing users. Others may be journalists, eager to sign up to provide accurate information. However, that’s not much. Parler has been around for years and still can’t even come up with the gap between Donald Trump’s 63 million votes and Hillary Clinton’s 66 million votes. If 3 million voices weren’t enough to make Hillary Clinton president, surely Parler’s “just under” 2 million users in the two years it’s been online isn’t an indication of a flourishing app.

But why aren’t more people joining? Well the simple truth is, why would you? If you aren’t some hateful degenerate, why would you need something other than Twitter? Twitter has a larger audience, it has less harassment and hate speech, and users are already on it without problems. Why would you stop using something good to join something that’s a second-rate Twitter clone? Thus, the only people flocking to these networks in tiny droves are bigots.

Nodding Heads, Boring Interactions

Many alt-right trolls are more what we’d call “edgelords.” They just want a reaction out of people. If they don’t get that, they’re bored. They go on networks to troll people. But when you just get likes for your antisemitic posts, what do you do? Suddenly, being a racist troll online isn’t “fun.” It’s tedious. These people then try to get back on Twitter or other networks and share racist dog whistles, just barely skirting under Twitter’s guidelines. That or they start a YouTube channel. They find that talking to a crowd of nodding heads is boring, they need someone to annoy, acting out like a younger sibling on a road trip in need of attention.

No Support

Eventually, these sites lose the support of their biggest names. Perhaps Ted Cruz is a fan of the site now, but when it becomes a cesspool of racism and bigotry, even having an account on there can be enough to get you labeled as a racist. Being an avowed racist isn’t good for a political career, or a career in journalism. As a result, the big names leave. Without them, the site just doesn’t have enough draw. Once it has reached that saturation point of racists to people trying not to be outwardly hateful, the big names leave in droves, like rats fleeing a sinking ship. The only ones left are those who have been drinking the saltwater.

Lousy Code

We can’t forget code quality. Software engineers flock to where the money and perks are. Good product managers are hard to come by, and want to work on exciting startups making a positive change in the world. They don’t want any part in something looking to hold progress back.

Take software engineers. Many are involved in the scientific community. To get a bachelor’s degree in computer science, you often have to take numerous math and science courses, including calculus and chemistry, perhaps even biology. Right-wing politics don’t appeal much to anyone involved in science. Science denial is at the heart of Republican politics, from climate change to the pandemic to LGBTQ rights. As a result, it’s far more difficult to find engineers who hold these far-right beliefs. They exist, and even flourish at some large workplaces like Google or Facebook, but there’s just not many of them. They’re also usually smart enough to keep their jobs at the large and stable tech companies, rather than take a risk on an upcoming social network that offers nothing new to users beyond, “Get in before we become the next 8chan!”

Lack of Safety

There’s another problem with networks like these. They’re desperate. Really desperate. They really want any voices coming to their platform, especially if they’re large and influential in conservative circles. Parler excitedly verified an account for Katie Hopkins, the far-right British personality. She went on to start a fundraiser, and raised at least $500 for legal fees in a supposed lawsuit against Twitter. The problem? The account was a scam. These sites are so desperate for real accounts, and their users are so accustomed to fake news, that they become easy targets of scams.

People on Twitter and other networks have found that many people react to those disagreeing with them through doxxing, that is, uncovering their personal information. The same right-wing nutcases that are eager to sign up for a network like Parler have been banned from other networks for harassment and hate. Why would a woman, an LGBTQ person, a racial minority, or a religious minority want to sign up there? These are the people who tore apart the lives of female game developers just for the “sin” of being female software engineers! Who would want to give such a site their email address and phone number, required for sign-up? No one with two brain cells to rub together. This is dangerous.

Free Speech Network

An angry Twitter bird shouts profanity, covering up what a diverse group of birds is trying to say.

Hate speech silences, that’s why most networks are banning it.

Believe it or not, I thought about starting a similar free speech network when I was young and naïve. I wanted a site where you could complain about everyday problems without necessarily attaching your identity to it. Stuff like, “Ever have one of those coworkers who comes by your cubicle to complain about Mondays and just. wont. leave?” However, I wouldn’t want to make such a post in a non-anonymous network, because my coworkers could all assume it was about them and get offended. The idea was a place to vent. But, I abandoned it. Not only was I too busy with my own job, but as I thought about it more, I realized that, while I’d like to use it for harmless venting, complaining about boring meetings or classes, others would use it for something else: harassment and hate. I took a look at a different anonymous board and what it had turned into, 4chan, and realized I didn’t want to have something like that.

The truth is, you need rules that prevent harassment, hate speech, violence, and other objectionable content. Otherwise, the only people who use your network will be the kind of people that others avoid. Then, you’re left with a small group of angry, hateful people, and, due to the echo chamber, only make themselves more angry and hateful. They lash out at people for menial things, for their heritage, their religion, or their sexuality. They plan violence. The truth is, these networks are doomed to fail because, by refusing to prevent hate speech, they make themselves a network where only hate speech can exist. They stomp out the free speech they wanted to protect. Parler will face the same fate as Gab and others, while Twitter will continue to be where Donald Trump voices his opinion to the masses. To really challenge mainstream networks, you’d need something original, and you need to protect your users. Parler and other so-called “free speech” networks don’t do that. That’s why they keep popping up, then fading away.

Sources, References, and Opinions:
,