Gettr, which is billed as a pro-Trump alternative to Twitter and Facebook, is in hot water for allowing graphic images of child abuse on their platform, according to a disturbing new report from Vice News.
According to Vice:
“New research from the Stanford Internet Observatory’s Cyber Policy Center has laid bare the dangers of the platform’s almost complete lack of moderation and identified more than a dozen child abuse images being shared by Gettr users.”
Computer programs exist to scan websites for images of child sexual abuse, but Gettr — which was launched in July by Jason Miller, a close adviser to the former president — doesn’t use any of them:
“One of the most widely used pieces of software is known as PhotoDNA, which stores a list of child exploitation imagery, against which platforms can check uploaded content before it is allowed on the site.
“But Gettr does not use PhotoDNA or any other automated software to monitor the content being uploaded to its site. Instead, it relies on users to report content.”
Such a laissez-faire attitude is incredibly dangerous, according to an author of the Stanford report, David Thiel:
“This, frankly, is just reckless. You cannot run a social media site, particularly one targeted to include content forbidden from mainstream platforms, solely with voluntary flagging. Implementing PhotoDNA to prevent CEI is the bare minimum for a site allowing image uploads.”
When the problem was brought to Miller’s attention by Vice, he insisted the Stanford report was “completely wrong” and claimed Gettr has “a robust and proactive, dual-layered moderation policy using both artificial intelligence and human review, ensuring that our platform remains safe for all users.”
This is the second time Gettr has been accused of hosting dangerous and disgusting content.
On August 2, it was reported that Gettr had become a haven for jihadist propaganda that was being shared by members of the terrorist group Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS:
“The social network … features reams of jihadi-related material, including graphic videos of beheadings, viral memes that promote violence against the West and even memes of a militant executing Trump in an orange jumpsuit similar to those used in Guantanamo Bay.”
Responding to that report, Miller claimed it proved that Trump had done a superb job of destroying ISIS during his time in office:
“ISIS is trying to attack the MAGA movement because President Trump wiped them off the face of the earth, destroying the Caliphate in less than 18 months, and the only ISIS members still alive are keyboard warriors hiding in caves and eating dirt cookies. GETTR has a robust and proactive moderation system that removes prohibited content, maximizing both cutting-edge A.I. technology and human moderation.”
Featured Image via Gettr
