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Gettr

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Gettr
Gettr logo.svg
Screenshot
Type of site
Social networking service
Founded2021
HeadquartersNew York, U.S.[1]
OwnerChainnov Inc.[2]
CEOJason Miller
IndustryInternet
URLgettr.com Edit this at Wikidata
LaunchedJuly 1, 2021; 2 months ago (2021-07-01)
Current statusOnline

Gettr (stylized GETTR) is an alt-tech social media platform targeted to American conservatives.[3][4] It was created by Jason Miller, a former Donald Trump aide and spokesman, and launched officially on July 4, 2021.[5][6] Its user interface and feature set have been described as very similar to those of Twitter.[7][8] Journalists noted the prevalence of extreme content on the platform, including racism, antisemitism, and terrorist propaganda.[9][10][11][12][13] The platform also experienced issues beginning shortly after launch, including users flooding it with pornography, and the hacking of some high-profile accounts.[14][15][3][16][17]

Background

After the United States Capitol attack of January 6, 2021, several social media sites restricted Donald Trump's social media usage, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, who banned him from their platforms.[7] Platforms also suspended some Trump supporters and others who were sharing conspiracy theories and extremist content. These actions led to an outcry from some conservatives that social media sites and Big Tech were silencing them.[18]

After the bans, Trump began looking for alternative platforms,[8][4] eventually creating his own blog to share similar content to what he had previously posted on Twitter. After poor reception, he closed the blog shortly after its launch.[7][19] Jason Miller, then Trump's senior advisor and spokesman since 2016, for several months teased plans by the Trump team to create a social network of their own.[20]

History

In June 2021, it was reported that Miller had left Trump's team to become CEO of a tech startup.[7][21] A beta version of Gettr launched on July 1, 2021, after being added to the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store in mid-June.[8] The platform can also be accessed via the web.[22] Gettr officially launched on July 4, 2021.[5] According to the Apple App Store listing, Gettr is developed by a company called Chainnov Inc.[2] Miller is CEO,[5] and former Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh is a media affairs consultant for the company.[23] Miller said of his motivations for creating the site, "People were being de-platformed and realising that the tech giants, so to speak, had [decided] to ally themselves with the more left-of-centre folks, who want to silence people all over."[24]

Miller has said the company was financed by a "consortium of international investors" including a foundation tied to Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman and fugitive with connections to former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and Mar-a-Lago.[23][1] Guo has said he is an adviser to the platform.[1] Media sites tied to Guo have suggested that the platform and its logo were his ideas, though Miller has downplayed the connections.[25] The Daily Beast reported that Gettr was a retooled version of Guo's Chinese internet app, Getome, which Miller confirmed.[23] Getome accounts were wiped before relaunching as Gettr.[26]

On the day of its beta launch, Gettr had several thousand users.[27] Bloomberg reported that Trump would not be joining the platform, nor would he have any financial stake in it, and that he was still planning to create a platform of his own.[28] On July 4, 2021, the day of the platform's official launch, Miller stated that it had "more than half a million users".[16] According to estimates from Sensor Tower, Gettr has received 1.3 million downloads globally since June 2021, with the United States and Brazil having the most downloads.[29] As of mid-August 2021, Miller said he still aimed to draw Trump to the platform.[30]

The platform was briefly hacked on its launch day. Some high-profile Gettr accounts, including those of Miller, U.S. representative Majorie Taylor Greene, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, and Bannon were compromised and had their account names changed to show the name of the alleged attacker and a message supporting Palestine.[31][17][32][29] A few days later, a hacker was able to scrape almost 90,000 email addresses through their application programming interface.[31]

Content

Content on Gettr is mostly right-wing in nature, and includes promotion of extremist groups like the far-right Proud Boys as well as posts by more mainstream conservative figures including Sean Hannity, Kevin McCarthy, and Mike Pompeo.[12][33] Journalists noted the prevalence of extreme content on the platform, including racism, antisemitism, and terrorist propaganda.[9][10][11][12]

Trending topics on the platform on the day of Gettr's beta launch included pro-Trump slogans, as well as hashtags including racist and antisemitic slurs and those referring to unevidenced theories about the origins of COVID-19.[8][9] Beginning shortly after Gettr launched, the platform was inundated with pornography, including hentai.[14][15][3] According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and Politico, propaganda from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also began to appear on the platform, including memes encouraging violence against the Western world, beheading videos, and a meme showing Trump being executed in an orange jumpsuit. The content was similar to what appears on mainstream platforms like Facebook and Twitter, according to a director of Tech Against Terrorism, but unlike Gettr the other sites have automatic filtering and removal systems in place, and partner through the nonprofit Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to remove extremist material. In response to questions about the content, Miller said that ISIL was trying to attack Trump supporters because Trump had "wiped [ISIL] off the face of the earth", and that "the only [ISIL] members still alive are keyboard warriors hiding in caves and eating dirt cookies".[12]

Gettr's terms of service allow but do not commit the platform to removing content that is "offensive, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, pornographic, violent, harassing, threatening, abusive, illegal, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate".[9] In an appearance on Newsmax, Miller touted the app as a "place people won't be canceled", and described the site's moderation system, which he said had already identified "left-of-center people" to "catch the/m and delete some of that content".[25]

In August 2021, a review of online activity on Gettr by Politico found that the platform "is inundated with terrorist propaganda spread by supporters of Islamic State".[13] Also in August, a study published by the found that Gettr has "very few — if any — mechanisms for detecting spam, violent content, pornography, and child exploitation imagery" and that "Gettr appears to rely entirely on community reporting mechanisms to find sensitive content and illegal child-related imagery".[34] The study found sixteen examples of images on Gettr that were flagged by PhotoDNA, an image-identification technology, as "child exploitation imagery".[34]

According to Miller, Brazil is Gettr's second-largest market after the United States, and Gettr is particularly popular among supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.[35]

Platform

Gettr has been described as a conservative social media platform.[4] Gettr describes itself as a "non-bias [sic] social network", and bills itself as an alternative to mainstream social networks, writing in a mission statement that its aims include "fighting cancel culture, promoting common sense, defending free speech, challenging social media monopolies, and creating a true marketplace of ideas".[7][8] The name is a portmanteau of "getting together".[5][1]

Gettr's user interface and feature set have been described as very similar to those of Twitter,[7][8] with some journalists describing it as a "clone".[9][36] Users can write posts on the platform of up to 777 characters in length, upload images, and upload and edit videos that are up to three minutes long.[5] Users can repost other users' posts, as well as explore a feed of trending topics.[7] The platform also includes the ability for users to be verified.[4] The app is rated "M" for "mature" in app stores, meaning it is recommended for those 17 years of age and older.[7] Miller said that the platform plans to add monetization via a "tipping" feature, livestreaming, and a platform to facilitate political donations.[5] Technology journalist Kara Swisher described Gettr in an episode of the podcast Pivot as easy to use and as "a cleaner Twitter", but said "it suffers from a lot of misinformation".[37]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Hagey, Keach; Spegele, Brian (July 2, 2021). "Ex-Trump Adviser Jason Miller Says New Social App Gettr Is Backed by Foundation Tied to Guo Wengui". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Spangler, Todd (July 1, 2021). "Gettr, Social Network Launched by Trump's Ex-Spokesman, Immediately Attracts Trump Imposters". Variety. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c McKay, Tom (July 2, 2021). "New Social Media Site From Team Trump Upsets Qanon Faithful With Hentai and Men In Diapers". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Panetta, Grace (July 1, 2021). "Trump's former top aide launches GETTR, a new conservative social media platform". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Singman, Brooke (July 1, 2021). "Trump adviser Jason Miller to launch GETTR, a 'cancel-free' social media platform". Fox News. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Former Trump spokesman launches new social media platform GETTR". News Nation USA. July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Klar, Rebecca (July 1, 2021). "Trump allies launch new social media platform: reports". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f McGraw, Meredith; Nguyen, Tina; Lima, Cristiano (July 1, 2021). "Team Trump quietly launches new social media platform". Politico. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Ghaffary, Shirin (July 1, 2021). "Trump is nowhere to be found on the Twitter clone his former spokesperson launched". Vox. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Mak, Aaron (July 2, 2021). "What Happened When I Tried to Register as Donald Trump on the New MAGA Social Network". Slate. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
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  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Shalal, Andrea (July 4, 2021). "Pro-Trump social media app hacked on launch day as half million sign up". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  18. ^ Guynn, Jessica (January 15, 2021). "'They want to take your speech away,' censorship cry unites Trump supporters and extremists after Capitol attack". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  19. ^ Bump, Philip (June 2, 2021). "Blogger calls it quits". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  20. ^ Holland, Steve; Culliford, Elizabeth (July 1, 2021). "Former Trump aide Miller launches social media site GETTR". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  21. ^ Breuninger, Kevin (June 11, 2021). "Trump spokesman Jason Miller leaving his role to join tech start-up". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  22. ^ Thalen, Mikael (July 1, 2021). "Former Trump aide launches 'GETTR,' the latest attempt at MAGA social media". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sommer, Will; Rawnsley, Adam; Suebsaeng, Asawin (July 1, 2021). "Trumpworld App Is Bankrolled by Fugitive Chinese Billionaire". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  24. ^ Pavia, Jason (July 24, 2021). "The man plotting Donald Trump's return to social media". The Times of London. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b Baragona, Justin (July 2, 2021). "Jason Miller Sadly Begs Trump to Join 'GETTR': 'We'd Love to Have Him'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  26. ^ Josh Marshall (July 2, 2021). "New MAGA App Part of Bannon-China Comic Book Spy Drama". TPM. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. But the gist seems to be that Guo recently told the app’s users to download their account data because he was about to wipe the site clean and relaunch it as Jason Miller’s GETTR.
  27. ^ Fischer, Sara (July 1, 2021). "Former Trump aide Jason Miller to launch new social app "Gettr"". Axios. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  28. ^ Niguette, Mark; Jacobs, Jennifer (July 1, 2021). "Former Trump Aide Starts Social-Media Platform Without Old Boss". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Hatmaker, Taylor (July 6, 2021). "Gettr, the latest pro-Trump social network, is already a mess". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  30. ^ ‘Sway’ (August 19, 2021). "Opinion | How Jason Miller Is Trying to Get Trump Back on the Internet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (July 6, 2021). "Hackers Scrape 90,000 GETTR User Emails, Surprising No One". vice.com. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  32. ^ Zitser, Joshua (July 4, 2021). "A string of top accounts on the new pro-Trump app GETTR were hacked and defaced on its July 4 launch day". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  33. ^ Singman, Brooke (July 13, 2021). "Former Trump adviser Jason Miller's GETTR social media platform reaches 1M users days after launch". Fox Business. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  34. ^ Jump up to: a b Gilbert, Ben (August 16, 2021). "A pro-Trump social media service built on 'freedom of speech' isn't moderating some child pornography". Business Insider. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  35. ^ Sonmez, Felicia; McCoy, Terrence (September 7, 2021). "Former Trump adviser Jason Miller briefly detained in Brazil as political tumult grips country". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  36. ^ Woodward, Alex (July 1, 2021). "Ex-Trump aide launches new social platform but former president won't join". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  37. ^ Swisher, Kara; Galloway, Scott (July 27, 2021). "Pivot: Tokyo Games Can't Catch a Break, Klobuchar Targets Vaccine Misinformation, and Friend of Pivot Eliot Brown on Apple Podcasts". Pivot (Podcast). Vox Media: Podcast Network. Event occurs at 6:42. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

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