The platforms below are considered by us the most suitable social media alternatives to Big Tech giants like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. They are listed in alphabetical order. Remember – those platforms support free speech, so you might find there opinions you do not agree with. But this is the essence of freedom of speech – we do not have to agree on everything, we just have to agree on one thing – allowing everyone to express their views.
Gab
Gab is a social network that is possibly the most committed to promoting freedom of expression among all of the alternative platforms. Because of that, not only its app was banned from Google and Apple app stores, Amazon banned its fundraising website, but also dozens of payment processing providers like PayPal, Stripe or Square refused their services to them to prevent it from operating. Not to mention its CEO, Andrew Torba, and his family, were personally blacklisted by Visa. Despite these challenges Gab managed to not only build its own infrastructure and survive, but thrive. We recommend trying it out, especially if you appreciate Christian values (but not only).
Website: gab.com
Gettr
Gettr is a microblogging site targeting American conservatives. It claims to be “founded on the principles of free speech, independent thought and rejecting political censorship and ‘cancel culture.'”. However, their Terms Of Use do not allow for content that is, in their opinion of course, “harmful”, “abusive”, “hateful” or “objectionable”. They also banned some people and even certain words in the past. But it still allows for quite a lot of good, conservative content. You can also find some prominent users there, like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene or Joe Rogan.
Website: gettr.com
Minds
Created in 2011, Minds was one of the first free speech social networks. It is privacy-focused and messages between users are end-to-end encrypted, which means no one can read them, apart from their intended recipients. It is also open source, so its source code can be audited by anyone. But most importantly, its moderators try to uphold the freedom of speech, and minimally moderate the content on its platform. Minds CEO explicitly said he opposes removing hate speech and in a 2019 statement to Vice, Minds executives expressed their belief in freedom of expression. It also adopted the The Manila Principles On Intermediary Liability, which is a digital bill of rights designed to protect freedom of expression. However, according to Wikipedia, the site in the past did cave to pressure and banned some people belonging to so-called “hate groups”.
Website: www.minds.com
Truth Social
Truth Social is a social media platform created by Donald Trump, which launched in February 2022. It claims to encourage “an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology”. But like in case of Gettr, its Terms Of Service forbid things like “discriminatory references” or “abusive or racist language”, which are totally subjective notions. Also, the site banned some people in the first days after its launch, which is not a great sign. However, these might just have been teething problems, so you might want to form your own opinion.
Website: truthsocial.com