Gab social network temporarily shuts down after GoDaddy pulls support

Thomson
Reuters

• GoDaddy is the latest company to pull support from Gab,
  a social network popular with the far-right that doesn’t police
  hate speech and positions itself as an alternative to Facebook
  and Twitter.
• The web-hosting company gave Gab 24 hours to find
  another hosting provider, and Gab is now temporarily shut down
  until it finds another host.
• GoDaddy said it “discovered numerous instances of
  content on the site that both promotes and encourages violence
  against people” in a statement to The
  Verge. 
• The suspect in the Pittsburgh
  synagogue shooting that left 11 dead and six injured
  allegedly used Gab and posted anti-Semitic messages there,
  including one right before the attack.

GoDaddy has joined the list of companies ending their business
relationship with Gab, a
social network popular with the far right for its policy of
not policing hate speech.

GoDaddy confirmed that it gave Gab 24 hours to find another web
hosting service after it “discovered numerous instances of
content on the site that both promotes and encourages violence
against people,”
in a statement to The Verge on Sunday night. 

Gab’s website appears to be out of service at the moment, and the
homepage now only shows a statement by Gab CEO Andrew
Torba, who said “we are the most censored, smeared, and
no-platformed startup in history, which means we are a threat to
the media and to the Silicon Valley Oligarchy,” and “as we
transition to a new hosting provider Gab will be inaccessible for
a period of time. We are working around the clock to get Gab.com
back online.”

Although by no means as large as its competitors like Facebook
and Twitter, Gab poses itself as an alternative to popular social
networks and doesn’t punish users for hate speech or what many
other social networks would deem offensive behavior. Thus, it’s
become popular with the far right, who have become dissatisfied
other social networks and their terms of service, which often
include rules about respecting others and not engaging in
harassing behavior.

Gab made headlines this week when it was revealed that
the suspect in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left
11 dead and six injured allegedly used Gab and posted
anti-Semitic messages there, including one right before the
attack. 

Following the shooting, Paypal, Medium, Stripe, and Joyent also
blocked Gab from accessing their services. 

Here’s the full statement from Torba on Gab’s
homepage:

Gab has spent the past 48 hours proudly working with the DOJ
and FBI to bring justice to an alleged terrorist. Because of the
data we provided, they now have plenty of evidence for their
case. In the midst of this Gab has been no-platformed by
essential internet infrastructure providers at every level. We
are the most censored, smeared, and no-platformed startup in
history, which means we are a threat to the media and to the
Silicon Valley Oligarchy. 

Gab isn’t going anywhere. 

It doesn’t matter what you write. It doesn’t matter what the
sophist talking heads say on TV. It doesn’t matter what verified
nobodies say on Twitter. We have plenty of options, resources,
and support. We will exercise every possible avenue to keep Gab
online and defend free speech and individual liberty for all
people. 

You have all just made Gab a nationally recognized brand as the
home of free speech online at a time when Silicon Valley is
stifling political speech they disagree with to interfere in a US
election. 

The internet is not reality. TV is not reality. 80% of normal
everyday people agree with Gab and support free expression and
liberty. The online outrage mob and mainstream media spin machine
are the minority opinion. People are waking up, so please keep
pointing the finger at a social network instead of pointing the
finger at the alleged shooter who holds sole responsibility for
his actions. 

No-platform us all you want. Ban us all you want. Smear us all
you want. 

You can’t stop an idea. 

As we transition to a new hosting provider Gab will be
inaccessible for a period of time. We are working around the
clock to get Gab.com back online. Thank you and remember to speak
freely. 

Andrew Torba, CEO Gab.com

Read our walkthrough of Gab here.