Could this be the answer to left-wing sites like Facebook and Twitter that conservative commentators have been looking for? Canadian academic and staunch defender of free speech Jordan Peterson has announced that he is creating a censorship-free social media platform set to launch this August.
As reported by NewsBusters, Peterson is in the process of creating a social media platform that will not ban users for speech they post unless ordered to do so by a United States court. However, the social media site called ThinkSpot will have some built-in features that could deter bad-faith actors on the website. NB's Alexander Hall has the report:
via NewsBusters:
“If minimum comment length is 50 words, you’re gonna have to put a little thought into it,” Peterson said. “Even if you’re being a troll, you’ll be a quasi-witty troll.”
All comments on the website will have a voting feature “and if your ratio of upvotes to downvotes falls below 50/50 then your comments will be hidden, people will still be able to see them, if they click, but you'll disappear.” He later added a caveat saying that was still being mulled over and that “We don't know if 50/50 is right.”
"Peterson said that a handful of major free speech proponents including Dave Rubin, Michael Shermer are on board to be beta testers for Thinkspot," Hall adds. The new platform comes as conservatives like Tucker Carlson argue that Big Tech's increasing influence will strip Americans of their rights.
Even non-politically oriented businesses like CrossFit have warned the dangers that Silicon Valley poses. The workout and fitness company recently announced a boycott of the site as well as a declaration of grievances against the behemoth tech company for silencing their member's speech.If you are interested in joining ThinkSpot, Peterson called for trial users this week on Twitter. “Per the Joe Rogan podcast this week, I'm backing a new platform called thinkspot, currently in Beta. Get on the waitlist here, exciting announcements coming very soon. http://thinkspot.com," he said.