Work

‘We do not marshal your feed’: How Alt Tech platforms (re) conceptualise safety

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This article explores how Alt Tech platforms – Parler, Truth Social, Gab, Rumble, BitChute, Odyssey, Gettr, and Minds – conceptualise a core social media value: safety. These platforms, often associated with the Alt-Right, challenge mainstream social media by reinterpreting the value of safety. Using a mixed-method approach to study values promoted in social media policies, this study reveals that Alt Tech platforms reject traditional safety measures, viewing them as censorship, manifesting in three key strategies: advocating for unrestricted freedom of expression; reframing safety-oriented governance as censorship, and promoting an ideal of the digitally mature , user. Our findings illuminate how Alt Tech platforms both perform safety while discursively rejecting its enforcement.

Source: Platforms & Society

DOI: 10.1177/29768624251327703

Authors: Paloma Viejo Otero, Rebecca Scharlach

Institutions: University of Bremen, Zentrum für Medien-, Kommunikations- und Informationsforschung

Language: English

Topic: Social Media and Politics

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $1,125