Sources

4chan is an imageboard website where users can anonymously post. Users primarily participate in threaded discussions in response to an original post containing an image. Threads are categorized into “boards”, which are a many-to-one relationship between a thread and a forum room. One of the most popular boards is “/pol/” or “politically incorrect” which rebranded from the "/new/" board and is where many internet attacks and threats of offline violence have been found. Content and users across the site suggest a free-speech maximalist ideology.

8kun, previously called 8chan, is an imageboard site where anonymous users respond in a threaded format to an original post. 8kun was created in 2013 as a free speech alternative to 4chan after 4chan began banning topics. Like 4chan, 8kun threads are categorized into various “boards”. Activity on the site has been linked to several mass shootings and violent extremist events, including three in 2019 (Christchurch, New Zealand, Poway, CA, and El Paso, TX). The site has also been known as the home of Q, the user behind the notorious QAnon conspiracies. 8kun's founder no longer controls the site and has since advocated for it to be shut down due to the offline violence attributed to its usage.

BitChute is a British video sharing site founded in 2017 and is generally seen as an alternative to YouTube. BitChute has said it promotes freedom of expression, decentralized distribution, empowering creators, and are against censorship, mob rule, and platform bias. Many prominent BitChute accounts have migrated to the platform after being banned or demonetized from other social networks.

Bluesky is an American text-based, open network created by a group of former Twitter employees. Also known as "Bluesky Social", it is a microblogging social network that uses the "AT Protocol". It officially branched out from Twitter in 2021 and maintains a similar user experience. Moderation, however, works in a unique way in comparison to many legacy platforms. Called 'Composable Moderation', Bluesky's moderation begins with a 'basic default' level of moderation followed by additional layers that are up to individual users to determine.

The Fediverse is comprised of a network of decentralized platforms that gives users more control and autonomy. These networks are often backed by servers running open-source code and maintained by pseudonymous administrators. The open-source libraries running on these servers, like Threads, Mastodon, or Lemmy, implement a shared communications protocols that allow the servers to "federate" and share information with one another. One of these protocols is called "ActivityPub", which operates as a server-to-server federation communication network.

Gab is an American social media platform that was launched in 2016 as an uncensored alternative to mainstream social media platforms.

Gab has been a subject of controversy due to concerns about the presence of extremist and controversial content on the platform. Notably, the gunman responsible for killing 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 had previously posted antisemitic content on the platform.

Gettr is an American social media platform that was launched in July 2021. Gettr positions itself as a platform for free speech and an alternative to mainstream social media. It has found some traction among Brazil's far right with Jair Bolsonaro owning an account. There have been reported connections tying the self-exiled businessman Guo Wengui to the platform as its source of funding.

LBRY is a blockchain-based, peer-to-peer file-sharing and payment network. It was founded in 2015 and served as the foundation for decentralized platforms like social networks and video sharing platforms. One of its founders described it as the most censorship-resistant system to ever exist. It was shut down in 2023 following a lawsuit brought by the SEC for selling unregistered securities.

Odysee, a subsidiary of LBRY, is a fringe decentralized alternative to YouTube and has emerged as the LBRY successor. White supremacists and other extremists have found a home at Odysee due to its stance on moderation.

MeWe is an American social networking platform launched in 2011, originally under the name Sgrouples. It is billed as the anti-Facebook as it does not moderate content on its platform. MeWe gained a lot of popularity and many new users in early 2021 when Donald Trump and many of his supporters were banned or removed from platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Minds is an American peer-to-peer blockchain-based social network. It was launched in 2015 as a free speech, minimally moderated alternative to Facebook where users can earn crypto rewards for platform engagement. Its founders say they allow extremist content as part of an effort to deradicalize users through discourse. Like other alt-tech platforms, Minds has seen large influxes of users when they are banned on other platforms.

Odnoklassniki (OK), or "Classmates" in Russian, is a social media network founded in 2006. For the first few years of its existence, OK was the most popular website in Russia. In 2010, OK merged with VK and monopolized the Russian social media landscape. Like many other sources, OK has little to no content moderation. A Texas man who killed 8 in a mass shooting in 2023 had previously posted neo-Nazi content to the platform.

Parler is an American microblogging social network. Temporarily shuttered in April 2023 following an acquisition, Parler has reemerged as a place for maximal free speech and little content moderation. Parler is known as one of the primary social networking sites used to coordinate the January 6th storming of the US Capitol.

Poal is an American threaded forum site modeled after the more mainstream Reddit. Poal takes a 'free speech' approach with their community and have implemented very little content oversight. Like in other sources, this lack of oversight has led to the presence of content containing harmful and harassing posts including antisemitic and white nationalist propaganda.

Rumble is a Canadian video sharing platform and web host founded in 2013. Billed as a free speech alternative to YouTube, it seeks to “restore the internet to its roots by making it free and open once again”. It has made a series of acquisitions in years’ past to compete in a consolidating video-sharing market. In August 2022, Rumble entered into an agreement to serve as cloud services provider for Truth Social.

RuTube is a Russian video platform and alternative to YouTube founded in 2006. State-sponsored material via a library of licensed content includes movies, series, cartoons, shows, and live broadcasts in addition to blogs, podcasts, and video game streams. Owned by Gazprom Media, RuTube has been used to push state-authored talking points and propaganda.

Scored (formerly known as Communities.win, Win Communities, and The Donald) is a collection of threaded based conversation forums that operates very similarly to its more mainstream counterpart, Reddit. The sites first came into existence when Reddit banned the subreddit r/The_Donald in 2020. Users responded by creating their own site, thedonald.win. Scored claims to "unblur the lines between entertainment and politics". The Scored community c/TheDonald remains a very popular channel for users to discuss conspiracy theories and extremist ideology.

Telegram Messenger, commonly known as Telegram, is an encrypted, cross-platform, cloud-based messaging application. Telegram was founded in 2013 by the founders of VK and hosts its operational center in Dubai. Telegram data schema consists of channels which users can join to post messages, images, videos, or other media. The Open Measures Telegram collections include activity from extremist and neo-Nazi groups and coordinated state-backed disinformation campaigns throughout the world.

TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create, share, and discover short-form videos. The app was developed by the Chinese tech company ByteDance and was launched in September 2016 under the name Douyin in the Chinese market. It was later released internationally as TikTok in September 2017.

Open Measures focuses its attention on TikTok content that ranges from harassment, foreign interference, white supremacy, and dangerous conspiracies.

Truth Social is an American microblogging social network platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group. The site bills itself as a “Big Tent” social media platform and alternative to Twitter. It was listed publicly in October 2023 via special purpose acquisition company, trading under the stock ticker DJT.

Founded in 2006, Vkontakte (VK) is a Russian social networking site. VK is based out of Saint Petersburg and considered to be the Russian Facebook. It was originally founded by the founders of Telegram and is still one of the most popular websites in Russia. It has light content moderation and loose enforcement on policy-violating content. In 2021, VK's parent company (VK Group) sold majority ownership to Gazprom Media, effectively making VK a state-run company.

Wimkin is an American social network founded in 2017. It promotes itself as a free speech alternative to traditional social media and the user experience is seen as a combination of Twitter and Facebook. Wimkin was pulled from major app stores in January of 2021 following calls to violence related to the storm on the US Capitol. The platform has since returned and maintains its lax policies on content moderation, describing itself as "100% Uncensored Social Media".