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Gab Dissenter

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Gab Dissenter
Original author(s)Andrew Torba and Ekrem Büyükkaya
Developer(s)Gab
Initial releaseFebruary 24, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-02-24)[1]
TypeSocial news, social network aggregation, and discussion forum
Websitewww.dissenter.com

Gab Dissenter (or simply Dissenter) is a social news aggregation and discussion service developed by the creators of Gab,[2] a social network website that promotes free speech and does not moderate like most other social media platforms(i.e Twitter, Facebook) Due to the relaxed moderation, fringe groups, that would otherwise be banned from other social media platforms, are known to congregate on its platform- including a far-right user base.[3][4][5] Dissenter was created to allow commenting on any Web page in an associated third-party forum outside of the site owner's control.[2] The platform includes a website and a browser extension.[2][6]

Dissenter was developed as a response to multiple social media platforms' and online news sites' moderation practices, which involve removal of individual comments or deleting or disabling comment sections altogether.[2]

Features

Users with registered Gab accounts may submit content to Dissenter in the form of a URL to a page on which they want to comment. This creates a discussion page where users can post a comment (or "Dissent"), and the comments can be up- or down-voted by other users of the site.[2] By using the Dissenter browser extension, users may read and post comments in an overlay while viewing page content. The Dissenter website also features a news ticker on which users can follow current events.[6]

History

Dissenter was released in February 2019, describing itself as "a free, open-source utility that allows people to dissent from orthodoxy and express what they are really thinking, without fear of reprisal".[7]

Readers of Tommy Robinson began using the extension to comment on a BBC article about Robinson's ban from social media websites following the removal of Mohammed's Koran, by Robinson and Peter McLoughlin, from Amazon Books.[8][9]

Source code for the browser extension has been made available under the Apache 2.0 license.[10]

Reception

The Financial Times noted that "there is a clear demand for this sort of freedom... with the potential to completely disrupt conventional media's control of its comment real estate."[11]

The Daily Dot alleged an association with Gab's far-right and alt-right user base, and common occurrence of racial slurs, homophobic comments, and insults against journalists.[12]

References

  1. ^ "WHOIS". WHOIS. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  2. ^ a b c d e Carson, Erin (February 27, 2019). "Gab wants to add a comments section to everything on the internet". CNET. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  3. ^ Hess, Amanda (November 30, 2016). "The Far Right Has a New Digital Safe Space". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  4. ^ Robertson, Adi (September 6, 2017). "Far-right friendly social network Gab is facing censorship controversy". Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Feeling Sidelined By Mainstream Social Media, Far-Right Users Jump To Gab". NPR.org. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b Gilbert, David (2019-02-27). "Users of far-right social network Gab can now comment on the entire internet". Vice News. Retrieved 2019-02-27. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ "Press release for Dissenter.com". Twitter. 2019-02-26. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ "Amazon stops selling Tommy Robinson's book on Islam the day after he was booted off Facebook and Instagram – but he can still broadcast on YouTube". The Sun. 2019-02-28. (also see [http://brianoflondon.me/2019/02/breaking-tommy-robinson-news-book-burning-begins/ co-author's comment)
  9. ^ Joe Roberts (27 Feb 2019). "Tommy Robinson fans find new way to get round Facebook and Twitter bans". Metro.
  10. ^ "gab-dissenter-extension". Github. Retrieved February 28, 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  11. ^ Kaminska, Izabella (1 March 2019). "Introducing the Shadow Comment Sector". The Financial Times. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Meet 'Dissenter': A far-right 'comment section' for hating on journalists". The Daily Dot. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-02-28.