The company’s CEO says users are flooding the platform after the sale of TikTok in the U.S.

all 2 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 4 points 9 months ago

I was never a TikTok person, so I have no idea how equivalent this platform is. I wonder if it will do as well without its algorithm.

Content moderation is a very difficult thing. I expect there will be a lot of grifters on there soon enough, and they're going to have to employ a bunch of people to make sure it doesn't become a shithole.

I hope TikTok crashes and burns so the Trumps and Saudi Arabian princes of the world lose all their money. Then again, some people still use Xitter, so my hopes aren't super high.

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    the bluesky of tiktok. the democratic party of tiktok

  • source
  • 37 comments in c/technology@beehaw.org view that post
    [–] 82 points 9 months ago (15 children)

    It's so common for "anti-censorship" to be code for "Nazi-friendly" that I'm immediately suspicious of any platform that uses that as a selling point.

    Well, plus the fact that it's a closed source nonfederated system, so it's just a case of "from the frying pan into another, slightly cooler frying pan"

  • source
  • hideshow 15 child comments
  • [–] [S] 25 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    It’s so common for “anti-censorship” to be code for “Nazi-friendly” that I’m immediately suspicious of any platform that uses that as a selling point.

    i don't know if it's a function of the ideological bent or just because the gigantic influx of users has totally swamped their moderation, but yes it does have problems with fascists as of writing

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    Gee whiz, imagine my surprise

    Edit: they're ostensibly banning trans people ("ostensibly" because it's not like I can verify the claims, not that I don't believe them), so I guess the "platforms shouldn't get to decide who exists" platform has no problem deciding trans people "shouldn't exist"?

  • source
  • parent
  • @alyaza @jaennaet It was having problems with this within a week of launch (source: I downloaded it within a week of launch and saw/reported more than one Holocaust denialism post/commenter in that time before I closed the app). So they may be being overloaded again, but from what I heard they hadn't even implemented basic username filtering before this next wave. I didn't say anything at the time bc it was new and I wanted to believe they meant well, but it's been 6 months…

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago

    It's so common for "anti-censorship" to be code for "Nazi-friendly" that I'm immediately suspicious of any platform that uses that as a selling point.

    I'm similarly suspicious, but it's not just code for "nazi-friendly" but also crackpots, maladaptives, etc. Rational people who read and say "anti-censorship" in this context know it means that it's not beholden to corporate or government interests. But everyone else seems to want to interpret that as "I can say whatever I want! How dare you mod anything I say?! Freeze-peach, y'all!"

    I wish they'd pick a different term for these non-corporate alternatives, but I don't have a better suggestion to offer right now.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago* (2 children)

    Yeah, I tried to give it an honest shot. Made an account and opened the Discover page. The very first post was an antisemitic “the Jews are secretly running the world” conspiracy theory post. Whatever, it’s inevitable on an anti-censorship app. Not a great first impression, but I’m willing to shrug it off as a fluke.

    Then three or four posts later, there was a blatant “Hitler was right about the Jews and the holocaust wasn’t enough” post, made by an account that was dedicated to glorifying Hitler. Again, this is on the Discover page for a brand new account. Meaning it’s what the algorithm is serving to users by default.

    I made another comment about it (with screenshots) a day or two ago. Here is the link.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    That's… that's terrible. Like I replied to that just a while ago, I wouldn't be surprised if this leads to further radicalisation of Americans if they do actually end up using UpScrolled.

    Putting my tinfoil hat on, this actually feels like a reich-wing ploy

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • Yeah, my linked comment was actually in response to an earlier comment I made, basically saying “this app’s explosive rise in popularity feels astroturfed.” I caught a couple of downvotes for that original comment. But the more I tried using it, the worse it got. It will 100% contribute to the normalization of Nazi viewpoints.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    In this case it seems quite reasonable for their stance to stem from the censorship of posts about palestine on popular social media platforms. Agreed we shouldn’t settle for any more privately owned social media regardless though.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    Agreed. Some censorship is good. Just like some regulation is good in any industry. Otherwise, the worst of the worst will destroy it with propaganda and hate. Censorship of things that are meant solely to hurt others or to spread misinformation are needed.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago

    Exactly. It's been proven time and time again that if you have absolutely zero moderation except for blatantly illegal content, you'll eventually be running a Nazi bar.

    Although in UpScrolled's case, I'm not sure if they weren't explicitly out to build a Nazi bar since they do seem to have a huge Nazi and antisemitism problem (well, problem for anyone who's not a Nazi anyhow) and they've apparently mass-banned trans people. So this profusion of Nazis might be a "it's a feature and not a bug" scenario, even though their TOS seemingly disallows hate speech.

    Also, for an "anti-censorship" platform it's funny that they ban any kind of "adult" content.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 27 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    There are other TikTok alternatives worth mentioning:

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 14 points 9 months ago

    Loops finally seems usable now. I tried the beta a while back and it was kinda "Meh" but it's improved significantly since. And you can browse on the website now, too. I'm not into short form videos, but credit where it's due.

    Well, I do like short form videos, but I hate panning for the gems and just let my friends send me the ones that rise to top.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Looks like Skylight is app-only, no website.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    That's almost irrelevant though, since very nearly no one is using tiktok (or any other short form video site except maybe Shorts because of how it shows up while browsing regular youtube) via its website. This is Lemmy so I'm sure some nerd here has some weird reason to want to do so, but they're an astronomically tiny minority of users.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago

    Does "no censorship" mean "no moderation"?

  • source
  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    It claims to be a platform with “no censorship”

    So they don't censor CSAM?

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    They’re already banning trans women just for being trans

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    do you have any posts or articles that discuss this? I've heard this referenced a few times but haven't seen examples yet. I'll continue searching but I'd appreciate you can link me to.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago

    It's a centralized platform. The exact same thing that happened to TikTok will, in time, happen to upscrolled. These people are running from the Schutzstaffel to the Sturmabteilung and expecting different outcomes.

  • source
  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Why would I want to join a dark pattern social media?

  • source
  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    It is not enough to talk of an alternative if the underlying structure reinforces centralization. This is so especially when federation protocols are active and seeking adoption.

  • source
  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Anti-censorship is a dog whistle for nazi bar. This one is already garbage.

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    I wonder if Upscroll is one of the 13 known forms of engagement...

  • source