The social media platform Gab, a network site popular with far-right users, saw an increase in traffic and site growth following the attacks on Capitol Hill and President Trump
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Gab CEO Andrew Torba said the platform saw a 40 percent increase in traffic during the riot that killed five people and resulted in dozens of arrests, according to NPR.
Torba founded the company in 2016 and promoted it as a platform for freedom of expression. Gab is frequented by far-right activists, according to Business Insider. The site is similar to Twitter and includes a main feed and an exploration area.
On Saturday, the platform tweeted that it gained more than 10,000 users in an hour and received 12 million visits in 12 hours, according to Insider.
The increase in engagement in Gab comes after videos surfaced on the platform on Wednesday of protesters showing themselves breaking into the Capitol and arguing among themselves about how to find Vice President Pence during the security breach, according to a report by The New York Times.
The Times reported that users involved in the violent attack on the Capitol communicated at the Cabinet about where to find themselves and what streets to take to avoid the police.
However, Torba, in a statement on Wednesday responded to the Times report, stating that, “[W]and we do not preemptively examine user content for criminal discourse, ”said Torba. “Before the Capitol was occupied by protesters, we had no idea what would happen with today’s protests in DC”
“Most of our users use Gab on desktop devices, which are obviously not easy to bring and use in protest,” said Torba.
Other sites that have seen an increase in traffic since election night in November include Parler, TheDonald and MeWe. These social platforms have minimal content moderation compared to apps like Twitter and Facebook.
On Wednesday, a crowd of President Trump supporters marched on Capitol Hill to prevent President-elect Congressional certification Joe Biden
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The crowd breached Capitol security, smashed windows and vandalized lawmakers’ offices. The breach also caused lawmakers, media and officials to evacuate the floors of the House and Senate and find shelter in undisclosed locations.
Supporters of the president meditated on various platforms on the possibility of violence on Capitol Hill before Wednesday’s attacks. Posts on sites like Parler were full of posts about assaulting the Capitol.
After Wednesday’s riots, Trump was suspended from Twitter permanently after determining that his posts represent “the risk of further incitement to violence”.