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I might give Rumble a try (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by ahriboy@lemmygrad.ml to c/comradeship@lemmygrad.ml
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Since red., DD Geopolitics etc. have been banned from the mainstream social media platforms after the stupidest US State Department announcement, I was thinking twice about joining Rumble. However, the biggest obstacle for joining was queerphobia.

PS: Might invite red. and DD Geopolitics to join the site.

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[–] sovietknuckles@hexbear.net 18 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

In the streaming space, Rumble is just a reactionary version of Twitch. There's plenty of leftist streamers on Twitch though, like

Each of these streamers streams regularly and has their own respective communities, are protective of trans rights, and none use thought-terminating enemy epithets like "tankie". Leftist Twitch is growing, and nothing like this exists on Rumble, no need to go to reactionary spaces to avoid getting banned.

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Twitch is already the reactionary version of Twitch. Twitch is a pro-imperialist platform and even more censorious than YouTube toward anti-imperialists. The post was asking about platforms that won't do the State Department's bidding. Twitch literally complies with anti-Russia sanctions, it bans and demonetizes Russian or pro-Russian channels.

If someone is looking for alternatives to YouTube because YouTube banned anti-imperialist channels that were getting too big, they are definitely not going to find that in Twitch.

Inevitably people who wake up to what is going on in the world are going to want to get away from these highly controlled mainstream platforms which are becoming more and more repressive as the establishment's political control is threatened. Telling people that it's not ok to go to alternative platforms because there is right wing content on there will only have one of two results:

Either they will abandon any nascent anti-imperialist sentiments they may have in order to be allowed to stay on the mainstream platforms, or it will drive them straight into the arms of the right which will welcome them into the alternative spaces and validate their frustration over the censorship and control they experienced on mainstream platforms.

[–] sovietknuckles@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

You seem to be responding to the first sentence of my comment with no comprehension of everything else in my comment.

If you think that there is no capacity of leftist infiltration on Twitch, you're wrong (see: all of the leftist streamers I listed above). ~~And if you think that Rumble has any potential to harbor leftist content, you are wrong again.~~

[–] SadArtemis@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If you think that there is no capacity of leftist infiltration on Twitch, you’re wrong (see: all of the leftist streamers I listed above). And if you think that Rumble has any potential to harbor leftist content, you are wrong again.

So, twitch, owned by Bezos, which complies with US repression is "open to leftist infiltration," but Rumble, owned by Thiel, is not?

I use both platforms, and I know of several leftist Rumble channels (Syrianalysis, Richard Medhurst, Danny Haiphong, Geopolitical Economy Report). Does that disprove your claims, or is the whole "Twitch is open to leftist infiltration because there are some leftists" bunk? (Frankly I think anywhere is open to leftist infiltration- right up until it isn't, something that all imperial core-owned platforms can and will be subjected to)

Twitch is more geared towards livestreams, also, whereas more.. journalistic, academic, or analysis-focused content fits more with the Rumble/YouTube format.

[–] sovietknuckles@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I use both platforms, and I know of several leftist Rumble channels (Syrianalysis, Richard Medhurst, Danny Haiphong, Geopolitical Economy Report). Does that disprove your claims [...]?

Sure it does, I hadn't heard of any of those. I'm glad you found leftist channels on Rumble. I, personally, would be very hesitant to point someone to Rumble (or Twitch) in general, rather than to specific channels, whether they're on Rumble or Twitch.

[–] SadArtemis@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago

I, personally, would be very hesitant to point someone to Rumble (or Twitch) in general, rather than to specific channels, whether they’re on Rumble or Twitch.

Same, though as I see it that extends to all large western platforms, really. Twitch is generally more inoffensive (because its focus tends to be gaming, and so long as one avoids the chuds most channels are more apolitical than ghoulish), that said.

I didn't exactly find the leftist channels I mentioned on Rumble, admittedly- they're the reasons I use it (Syrianalysis and Richard Medhurst are demonetized, and now I suppose Africa Stream is banned on YT). I basically followed channels I had already been watching on YouTube, as a backup (or to support the creators who were being repressed by YT)

[–] thetaT@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

https://tankie.tube

[–] commiewolf@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Rumble is just that, a platform. That's how I've seen it in my experience. There are leftists there too, even if they are the minority. But this is the same on any other platform, apart from maybe Tankietube and similar. It doesn't mean that it's not worth using, if anything I think leftists should put their content anywhere they're allowed, as the whole point is to get the masses on board. Rumble's audience is already skeptical of mainstream media and other big tech platforms, so I'd say that it's more likely your stuff gets traction on there than it would on Youtube for example. The site does have the one massive issue in that it's got an established large userbase of right wingers because of how the site started off, but I think given enough time this would probably shift a bit since enough leftists start getting booted from Youtube etc. (Recent Russiagate witch-hunting is already proof of this)

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 month ago

Rumble's audience is already skeptical of mainstream media and other big tech platforms, so I'd say that it's more likely your stuff gets traction on there

This is a very good point!

[–] FreydounHosseini@vegantheoryclub.org 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Rumble is owned by Peter Thiel

[–] SadArtemis@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thiel, Zuckerberg, Elon, whoever runs google (their hands are just as bloody if not more so, seriously though google is evil as all hell), honestly does it change a thing?

Unless you're going to use small independent sites (like tankietube) or non-western ones (like bilibili) they're all ghouls.

[–] FreydounHosseini@vegantheoryclub.org 3 points 1 month ago

Yeah I wouldn’t use any of those services. I hate using American shit. I’d rather sit in silence than use it.

[–] multitotal@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Isn't Rumble ultimately just a platform? Avoid the queerphobic content/creators. Unless Rumble itself can detect when a website visitor is queer and stop working or something.

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ultimately it is going to be inevitable that communists migrate to alternative platforms because the mainstream ones are just going to escalate their crack downs on anti-imperialist content. Branding these alternative platforms as "right wing platforms" is not going to help us in the long run. It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy as leftists will avoid them and these places will become more and more right wing echochambers. Meanwhile, everyone who remains dependent on the mainstream platforms will be forced to increasingly self-censor out of fear of getting banned.

The best thing to do is to establish a presence on these alternative platforms sooner rather than than later so that when the ban on the mainstream spaces does come we will be ready and will not be starting from zero.

[–] commiewolf@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You said it better than I did, lmao, I should have just read yours first. But yes, I think currently there isn't any blatant censorship or algorithmic suppression of left content on Rumble. I've seen plenty of Pro Palestinian (and, annoyingly Pro Israel too) content on there with a reasonable viewership. Rumbles management doesn't care, as they currently just want people to use their platform, and they hardly get advertising due to the stigma against them in corporate circles.

I have no doubt that if the tables flip, and Rumble becomes big and mainstream enough to start getting pressure from the US government and corporate sponsors, this will probably all change and it would just become another Youtube. But that hasn't happened yet, and it means it's still able to be uncensored.

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago

I have no doubt that if the tables flip, and Rumble becomes big and mainstream enough to start getting pressure from the US government and corporate sponsors, this will probably all change

That's probably how it will go. Then a new Rumble will appear and so on. The last resort of the imperialists will be to censor the internet right at the provider level, which will leave the imperial core ("the West") in an information bubble increasingly detached from reality.

[–] ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Rumble is for far right cranks who were booted from mainstream platforms like Twitch for being too fascist. You could use it just as a platform but it has a far right bent because of its origins.

[–] multitotal@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I wouldn't know, I think I watched a pro-RU video on the war in Ukraine on Rumble once, but I can't remember. I don't use it. I was just encouraging op that if they want to try something, they should. If they don't like it, they can always stop using it.

Essentialist labels shut down curiosity, when really people should see things for themselves, otherwise how will they know? I'm not just talking about the internet, but I mean in real life too. How many times have we heard "that place? oh, that's the _________ place." and they don't need to say "don't go there", but just by what they said and their tone the "...don't go there" is implied. It's a form of social pressure and a way to enforce conformity in a group. I'm sure most people who do it, do it subconsciously, either to protect the thought bubble in the group, thus strengthening the group, or for fear of losing a group member to another, incompatible interest. But I digress...

You could use it just as a platform but it has a far right bent because of its origins.

How do they handle leftist/communist content? I mean, do they censor opposing political ideologies or do they ban/delete leftist content? Because that's the important bit. If they do censor leftist content, then they're just a right-wing propaganda outlet.

[–] ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They don't censor leftist content from my knowledge. It is probably the same thing as reddit where they will allow it until it becomes too prominent to ignore.

[–] multitotal@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Perhaps Rumble is not enemy territory, but an opportunity. Cause while the people who run it and lots of content creators on it may be right-wing/fascist, that doesn't mean that all the people visiting are. In fact, I'd say that most who visit aren't. People are scared and confused, they're looking for anything that makes sense and they can get behind. Communists should be providing that alternative. Speaking to people's frustrations, understanding where they're coming from and then offering an alternative to liberalism, fascism, conservatism.

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 month ago

My thoughts exactly!

[–] sovietknuckles@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

Rumble hosts Truth Social

[–] Rob200@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 month ago

The thing about rumble is, they'l allow pretty much any kind of Speech, but if you are left leaning i'm thinking (hoping) they would treat you the same as the right. That is something I think someone ought a do a documentary about.

Does Rumble really care about free speech, or is it strictly the alt right speech? For reach, surely Rumble wouldn't be bad, in fact probably your next best for viewer reach next to Youtube and Twitch.

Personally I don't use Rumble but I understand you got to do what you got to do to get viewership.

[–] Coco0330@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Even though Rumble is not 100% right-wing it is at least 80-90% right-wing there are still some good creators but still many people on there somehow think the Dems are "commies"