Gab

[[File:Gab text logo.svg|thumb|165px|Gab's current logo is really [[green ink|green]] and boring, though it is fashioned from freshly skinned frogs. At least with the previous logo, you can make Pepe jokes about it.]]{{altrightnav}}{{cquote|Free speech [[Irony|for everyone.]]|||Official slogan<ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/05/21/529005840/feeling-sidelined-by-mainstream-social-media-far-right-users-jump-to-gab Feeling Sidelined By Mainstream Social Media, Far-Right Users Jump To Gab] by Alina Selyukh (May 21, 2017 at 6:46 AM ET) ''All Tech Considered: NPR''.</ref>}}

'''Gab.com''' (formerly '''Gab.ai'''<ref>Raymond Hackney (September 22, 2018). [https://www.thedomains.com/2018/09/22/gab-ai-upgrades-to-gab-com/ "Gab.ai upgrades to Gab.com"]. ''TheDomains''.</ref>{{efn|Possibly a peculiar reference to ''{{wpl|gabbai||,}}'' a position in the [[Jewish]] religion for people who work to assist a synagogue or [[rabbi]] in some way.}}) is a social network website founded in Austin, [[Texas]] in August 2016 by CEO Andrew Torba as a "[[free speech]]" alternative to [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]]. Apparently, the website was founded in response to Facebook employees suppressing [[conservative]]™ articles (according to Torba, though those in the [[reality-based community]] might disagree)<ref>{{cite web | last=Hess | first=Amanda | title=The Far Right Has a New Digital Safe Space | website=The New York Times | date=2016-11-30 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/arts/the-far-right-has-a-new-digital-safe-space.html | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref> and the "entirely left-leaning Big Social monopoly" by mainstream social media platforms.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kantrowitz | first=Alex | title=This New Social Network Promises Almost-Total Free Speech To Its Users | website=BuzzFeed News | date=2016-09-09 | url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alexkantrowitz/new-social-network-gab-growing-fast-free-speech | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref>

Despite its initially innocuous appearance and good intentions such as its "people and free speech first" policy, the website has unsurprisingly (see [[8chan]], another free speech Internet experiment) become a refuge for [[crank]]s, [[conspiracy theorist]]s, [[alt-right]]ers, [[white supremacist]]s, [[White nationalism|white nationalists]], [[Neo-Nazism|Neo-Nazis]], [[antisemitism|antisemites]], [[internet troll]]s, homophobes/transphobes, [[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]], [[Terrorism|terrorists/extremists]], denialists ([[Holocaust denial|Holocaust]], [[Birtherism|Obama birther]] and [[Global warming denialism|climate change]]), and other unsavory creatures of the web.

Gab has since become the dumping ground for all things banned from Twitter,{{efn|At least prior to its acquisition by [[Elon Musk]], which has kind of thrown cold water on Gab's entire business model. That is not great news for Torba, since Gab had already been experiencing longstanding financial issues.}} and not in a good way. Until 2018, the logo of the website was a frog (which screamed [[Pepe the Frog]], though Torba denies the connection, claiming that it was inspired from Bible verses Exodus 8:1–12 and Psalms 78:45). The website is one of the several outlets that form the [[Alt-right glossary#Alt-tech|alt-tech]].

The website has over 835,000 users. However, on the bright side, as of 2019, it only has 19,526 active user accounts.<ref>{{cite web | title='No Way' Gab Has 800,000 Users, Web Host Says | website=Southern Poverty Law Center | date=2024-12-03 | url=https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/no-way-gab-has-800000-users-web-host-says/ | ref={{sfnref|Southern Poverty Law Center|2024}} | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref> The site lacks a full-text search feature but supports searching by hashtags.

Torba's ultimate goal with Gab is to create a full-fledged right-wing tech ecosystem dedicated to his militant version of "[[Christianity]]", which is based on radical [[white nationalist]] pique toward non-Christians, [[QAnon]] conspiratorial thinking, and outrage at everything "elite". <ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/163285/andrew-torba-gab-white-christian-internet "The CEO Trying to Build a White, Christian, Secessionist Tech Industry"] by Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, 2021 August 23</ref>

==Dissenter==
In February 2019, Andrew Torba introduced Dissenter, a new project that claimed to be "the comments section of the internet".{{efn|a.k.a. introducing hate speech on news sites' comments sections.}} It is a browser add-on that allows people to comment on news websites. Not so surprisingly, it has been blocked by Mozilla and Google for attracting the same audience that Gab brings in. Dissenter has been called "the (browser) extension of the far right." Gab also offers a web browser also called "Dissenter" (a fork of Brave Browser) to respond to being blocked by Mozilla and Google.<ref>[https://archive.is/wGugV Frequently Asked Questions]. Archived from dissenter.com, 15 April 2021.</ref> The {{wpl|Microsoft Windows|Windows}} and [[Linux]] versions of the browser (v1.5.114) were last updated March 2020, whereas the macOS version (0.70.122) was last updated on November 2019, meaning the browser is functionally abandonware (or at the very least, concerningly old).

==Relaunch==
In July 2019, Gab was relaunched after struggling from the fallout of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. The relaunched site was built on the free software Mastodon, but not in affiliation with its developers.<ref>{{cite web | last=Rochko | first=Eugen | title=Gab switches to Mastodon's code | website=Mastodon Blog | date=2019-07-04 | url=https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2019/07/statement-on-gabs-fork-of-mastodon/ | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref> The nature of the free AGPL3 license that Mastodon is licensed under prevents its team from doing anything about Gab's fork.<ref>[https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/blob/master/LICENSE Mastodon's license]</ref> Thankfully, Gab's viewership has been plummeting since the updates.<ref>[https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/gab.com The Gab entry on Alexa.com]</ref>

==Controversies==
Because of its content, Gab.com has been banned from several outlets. [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] banned Gab due to its [[porn]]ographic content, while [[Twitter]] blocked it for its feature that shares posts from the site on Twitter.<ref>{{cite web | last=Rodriguez | first=Salvador | title=Gab, the Alt-Right's Favorite Social Network, Gets Rejections From Apple, Twitter | website=Inc | date=2016-12-15 | url=https://www.inc.com/salvador-rodriguez/gab-apple-twitter.html | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref> Unsurprisingly, [[Google]] Play also banned the website for violating its [[hate speech]] policy.<ref>{{cite web | last=Coldewey | first=Devin | title=Alt-social network Gab booted from Google Play Store for hate speech | website=TechCrunch | date=2017-08-17 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/17/alt-social-network-gab-booted-from-google-play-store-for-hate-speech/ | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref> In response, Gab.com sued Google for violating antitrust laws.<ref>{{cite web | last=Lee | first=Timothy B. | title=Twitter rival Gab sues Google over app store rejection | website=Ars Technica | date=2017-09-16 | url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/twitter-rival-gab-sues-google-over-app-store-rejection/ | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref>

On September 5, 2017, Gab.com was forced to [[censor]] a post deemed offensive by Instra Corporation in 48 hours.<ref>{{cite | title=Gab.Ai Forced To Censor Post After Registrar Company Issues Threat | date=2017-09-05 | url=https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2017/09/gab-ai-forced-to-censor-post-after-registrar-company-issues-threat/38824/ | language=en-US | ref={{sfnref|Gab.Ai Forced To Censor Post After Registrar Company Issues Threat|2017}} | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref> The next day, the company got embroiled in another censorship controversy when domain company AsiaRegistry demanded that [[Andrew Anglin]]'s offensive post about Heather Heyer's killing at the [[Unite the Right]] rally be removed; the company complied by removing his post.<ref>{{cite web | last=Robertson | first=Adi | title=The far-right’s favorite social network is facing its own censorship controversy | website=The Verge | date=2017-09-06 | url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/6/16259150/gab-ai-registrar-andrew-anglin-daily-stormer-crackdown | access-date=2025-07-11}}</ref>

On October 27, 2018, crazed antisemite Robert Bowers [[Pittsburgh synagogue shooting|killed 11 people at the Tree of Life]], a synagogue in Pittsburgh, [[Pennsylvania]].<ref>Campbell Robertson, Christopher Mele and Sabrina Tavernise, [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/us/active-shooter-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting.html 11 Killed in Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre; Suspect Charged With 29 Counts.] ''[[The New York Times]],'' 27 October 2018.</ref> The suspect was found to be an active user of Gab, and used the platform as an [[echo chamber]] for [[racism|racist]], antisemitic and [[bigot]]ed ideology. Bowers blamed Jews for bringing in Central American migrants into the United States, claiming "HIAS [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society] likes to bring invaders that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in,"<ref name=onedingo>[http://archive.is/1gI5n#selection-647.0-659.32 Robert Bowers · @onedingo] ''Gab'' (archived from 27 Oct 2018 15:30:05 UTC).</ref> and "Why Hello there HIAS! You like to bring hostile invaders to dwell among us? We appreciate the list of friends you have provided."<ref name=onedingo/> He believed that there was a [[white genocide]], writing "Daily Reminder: [[Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white|Diversity means chasing down the last white person]]," featured the neo-Nazi catchphrase [[Fourteen Words|1488]] on his profile at least twice (on his account picture and the other in a post titled "Make Ovens 1488 F Again"), and reposted other antisemitic, neo-Nazi and Holocaust denial/Holocaust-related content from other users such as [[Patrick Little]] and ''[[Daily Stormer]]'' writer "Grandpa Lampshade". Shortly thereafter, Paypal suspended Gab from their service, and Gab's hosting provider gave them the boot.<ref>[http://lite.cnn.io/en/article/h_83ae59fdfb394495f8003eddf973e27d What's Gab, the social platform used by the Pittsburgh shooting suspect?] [[CNN]], 27 October 2018.</ref><ref>Andrew Liptak, [https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/27/18032930/paypal-banned-gab-following-pittsburgh-shooting Paypal bans Gab following Pittsburgh shooting.] ''The Verge'', 27 October 2018.</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056362626077220865 Gab.com] on [[Twitter]], 27 October 2018. {{quotebox|Gab’s new hosting provider, has just pulled our hosting service. They have given us until 9am on Monday to find a solution. Gab will likely be down for weeks because of this.}}</ref><ref>Alan Pyke, [https://thinkprogress.org/hate-breeding-social-network-robert-bowers-used-is-going-dark-for-now-cae01a4224e9/ Gab, the hate-breeding social network Robert Bowers used, is going dark for now.] Think Progress, 28 October 2018.</ref>

==The hate flows down from the top==
Unsurprisingly, Andrew Torba, Gab's CEO, is [[antisemitic]] like much of Gab's userbase is. In October 29 2021, he tweeted a tirade regarding his desire to create a "parallel [[Christian]] society" due to being "fed up and done with the {{wpl|Jewish Bolshevism|Judeo-Bolshevik}} one", and supported this with antisemitic comics from [[StoneToss]]. <ref>[https://www.dailydot.com/debug/andrew-torba-deactivates-gab-twitter-antisemitism/ "Gab’s CEO deactivates Twitter account after wildly antisemitic tirade"]</ref><ref>[https://www.adl.org/blog/gab-ceo-andrew-torba-broadcasts-his-antisemitism-across-social-media-platforms "Gab CEO Andrew Torba Broadcasts His Antisemitism Across Social Media Platforms"], ADL, 2021 December 15</ref> On his social feed on Gab, Torbin has even fewer problems whipping out antisemitic tropes in his posts, such as "[[Zionism|Zionists]]" being responsible for creating the [[Federal Reserve]] (which for some reason is a "subversion of American Christianity") <ref>[https://www.adl.org/blog/gab-ceo-andrew-torba-broadcasts-his-antisemitism-across-social-media-platforms "Gab CEO Andrew Torba Broadcasts His Antisemitism Across Social Media Platforms"], ADL, 2021 December 15</ref>, or "[[International Jewish conspiracy|Jews control the media]]". <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211220000303/https://gab.com/a "The ADL attacked President Trump and I in the same week. Because the things we are saying are true!"], Andrew Torba, Gab, 2021 December 20, archived on 2021 December 20</ref>

In late January 2022, Torba announced that Gab would sponsor as well as give a speech  at the ''America First Political Action Conference'', the [[neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] alternative political conference to {{wpl|Conservative Political Action Conference|CPAC}} run by neo-Nazi [[Nick Fuentes]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220225154757/https://gab.com/a "Tonight I will be giving a speech live at AFPAC. I hope you can tune in. Shortly before I give my speech I will be publishing the transcript on Gab News. My goal with this speech is to inspire the next generation to build the Parallel Economy for the Glory of God. The title of the speech is GAB: Go And Build."], Andrew Torba, GAB, 2022 February 25, archived on 2022 February 25</ref> In the announcement, Torba declared that he wanted "unity on the right", then proceeded to trash-talk CPAC for supposedly being "sponsored by [[Facebook]] and [[Google]]" and [[Turning Point USA]] for being "sponsored by [[atheist]] [[libertarian]] billionaires". This announcement actually was extreme enough to piss off many Gab members. <ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/gab/growing-links-between-gab-ceo-andrew-torba-and-holocaust-denier-nick-fuentes "The growing links between Gab CEO Andrew Torba and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes"] by Alex Kaplan, Media Matters, 2022 February 18</ref><ref>[https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gab-sponsoring-white-nationalist-nick-fuentes-conference/ "Gab users are furious after its CEO announces partnership with notorious white nationalist"] by Claire Goforth, Daily Dot, 2022 January 25</ref><ref>[https://archive.is/t2bps "Gab is glad to be sponsoring AFPAC 3.",] Andrew Torba, post on Gab, 2022 January 25, archived on 2022 March 1</ref>

In the rest of 2022, Torba doubled down on his hardcore [[Christian nationalism|Christian nationalist]] side as well as his antisemitism. In one video, for instance, he stated that he believed that modern right-wing politics in America "is an explicitly Christian movement because this is an explicitly Christian country", and then tied this to his support for transforming America into a [[Christian]] [[theocracy]]. ("You're not going to be forced to convert or anything like this, but you're going to enjoy…the fruits of living in a Christian society under Christian laws.")<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/mastriano-fire-payment-christian-nationalist-platform-rcna40541 "Mastriano under fire for payment to 'Christian nationalist' platform"] by Allan Smith, NBC News, 2022 July 28</ref><ref name="vicetorba">[https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxnpz5/gab-andrew-torba-christian-nationalist "Gab Founder Andrew Torba Wants to Build a Christian Nationalist Internet"] by Tess Owen, Vice News, 2022 September 29</ref> Torba's belief that the conservative movement should be 100% Christian meant that even prominent Jewish conservatives such as [[Ben Shapiro]] and [[Dave Rubin]] were verboten. ("They don't share our values. They have inverted values from us as Christians.")<ref name="salonantisemitism">[https://www.salon.com/2022/08/13/far-right-platform-gab-veers-into-overt-antisemitism--and-only-some-back-away/ "Far-right platform Gab veers into overt antisemitism — and only some Republicans back away"] by Kathryn Joyce, Salon, 2022 August 13</ref> On his social media accounts, Torba continued to repost many antisemitic posts from his platform's users, including the [[white genocide]]/{{wpl|HIAS}} conspiracy theory espoused by mass murderer Bowers; praise for [[Holocaust denial]]; complaints about supposed "[[International Jewish Conspiracy|"Jewish influence"]] in government, business, and the media; and a post stating that [[Evil Jew|"the Jews killed Christ"]].<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/diversity-discrimination/doug-mastriano-consultant-and-gab-ceo-andrew-torba-reposts-attacks-jews "Doug Mastriano consultant Andrew Torba reposts attacks on Jews for “white genocide,” subversion, and domination"] by Eric Hananoki, Media Matters, 2022 July 20</ref> 

All of this culminated in October 2022 when Torba, along with a pastor named Andrew Isker, self-published a book entitled ''Christian Nationalism: A Biblical Guide For Taking Dominion And Discipling Nations''. In this book, Torba described his vision of building up a parallel "Christian" society that eventually will "fill the vacuum of the secular state when it falls" (exactly why the state will fall, beyond Torba's belief that the "system" is "wicked and corrupt", is not exactly clear). Torba's version of "Christianity" naturally is severely tilted towards [[culture war]] topics (including [[transphobic]], [[homophobic]], and [[anti-abortion]] rhetoric, not to mention the typical misuse of [[snarl words]] such as "[[Marxist]]" and "[[woke]]").  Other bits of this book focused on "[[traditional values]]" concepts such as masculinity and [[patriarchy]], [[fire and brimstone]] rhetoric, [[spiritual warfare]], and eventual [[Dominionism]]. The religious ideology that Torba tolerates is very narrow; not only is his ''bête noire'' religions, such as Judaism, "a false religion", but "if you say you are a Christian and you reject “Christian Nationalism,” you are just a [[No True Scotsman|disobedient Christian.]]"<ref>[https://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/2022/09/11/i-read-the-gab-ceos-awful-new-christian-nationalism-book-so-you-dont-have-to/ "I Read the Gab CEO’s Awful New Christian Nationalism Book So You Don’t Have To"] by Rebekah Kohlhepp, She Seeks Nonfiction blog, 2022 September 11</ref><ref>[https://jewishinsider.com/2022/09/andrew-torba-gab-book-extremism-amazon/ "Book co-authored by Gab CEO Andrew Torba makes Amazon bestseller list"] by Matthew Kassel, ''Jewish Insider'', 2022 September 14</ref><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/gab-founder-andrew-torba-book-guide-to-christian-nationalism-2022-10 "We read the Gab founder's how-to guide to Christian nationalism. The book is part of a new trend of conservatives openly embracing the ideology."] by Kelsey Vlamis, ''Business Insider'', 2022 October 23</ref>

Torba also endorsed several far-right [[Republican]] politicians in the [[2022 midterm elections]] that also flirted with Christian nationalism ideology. These endorsements were often extremely controversial (and not welcomed by some, though not all, of the endorsed candidates) thanks to Torba's rabid antisemitism.<ref name="vicetorba"/><ref name="salonantisemitism"/>
Unsurprisingly, Torba is against the [[COVID-19 vaccine]], and has used quackery like [[ivermectin]] and [[hydroxychloroquine]] to "treat" the bouts of COVID-19 he caught.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220130072854/https://gab.com/a "So I had "Covid" again. Was nothing at all like the first time which was only a few months ago. 48 hours of Ivermectin, Hydroxy, and a Z pack and I am testing negative now. It seriously felt like a 24 hour head cold. I don't trust these covid tests at all. I don't trust a single thing we have been told by "the experts" at all either. All I know is I am thankful that God gave me a glorious immune system and that I remain unvaxxed from Big Pharma's clot shot."], Andrew Torba, Gab, 2022 January 30, archived on 2022 January 30</ref>

==See also==
* [[Christian Identity]], a strain of Christianity comparable to Torba's (that is, assuming it isn't precisely what he believes in)
* [[PewTube]], a failed "[[free speech]]", [[alt-right]] alternative to [[YouTube]] that was rife with the same type of content as Gab.
* [[8chan]], another example of what normally happens when you don't set speech limits.

==External links==
*[https://gab.com/ Gab]
*[https://twitter.com/getongab Their Twitter] {{---}} [[irony meter]] is off the charts here
*[https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/gab/ SPLC profile]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:2020 election denialists]]
[[Category:Alt-right]]
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[[Category:Internet]]
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[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Theocracy]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]
[[Category:Trolls]]
[[Category:Webshites]]
[[Category:Webshites hosted by Epik]]
[[Category:White supremacy]]
[[Category:Alt-tech]]

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