Just when you thought today’s mainstream apps like Facebook and YouTube could never be replaced, along comes a new study that highlights major alternatives to the norm.
The research comes to us courtesy of the Pew Research Center. They took the time to analyze seven different types of social media apps that tout themselves as the best alternative to the big platforms that lead the way in today’s tech world.
Some apps are definitely more popular than others. And those included in the list are Telegram, Parler, Truth Social, Gab, Rumble and even BitChute.
A total of 10,000 American adults were surveyed in May of this year and given the opportunity to criticize the apps through their websites. Similarly, they were also asked to go over the common themes discussed in these accounts.
In that study, the research center found that about 6% of respondents received news from at least one of the various platforms examined. Meanwhile, about 65% of surveyed users confirmed that they had found a community that shared the same views as them.
Not surprisingly, politics was a big factor in this ordeal. Many noted how many of the applications were under the influence and pressure of political polarization and the first division between American partisans in the world of media.
Those who claimed to get news through such apps were found to be Republicans or those who did not favor the Democratic party, compared to those seen on mainstream or more popular sites. There, the Democrats held the majority in terms of the user group.
Researchers from the Pew team said that about 54% of the accounts that were analyzed appealed to some value of some form of political orientation in their profiles. And then about 26% were big fans of Donald Trump.
Some other interesting findings observed included pro-American views, while others held a basic religious identity. Some had pro-gun sentiments, and there were some who supported the famous conspiracy theories associated with Qaano.
But overall, all seven platforms that were classified as alternative to the norm were seen as supportive of the concept of free speech. About half of them also strongly stated how they were opposed to censorship, which is why it was the best alternative to names that come under the “big tech” banner.
Meanwhile, every platform other than Gab was seen to be moderating user content to some degree that went beyond typical spam or the law’s requirements to delete posts or ban and suspend accounts when the offerings were racist, violent, offensive and more .
And when users were asked what they got from such apps and not so much from others, their answer was simple. It was related to freedom of speech and did not have the usual censorship rules.
On the other hand, those who use the typical big tech giants called such alternative apps as misleading and inaccurate. They also felt strongly that there was a very strong sense of political bias. So which platforms hit home compared to the others?
Well, Pew claims that 15% of the accounts they examined had been banned or had their monetization features removed. And in terms of apps, BitChute had the highest number of banned apps compared to others. In second place was Rumble and in third was Gab.
It was Truth Social, the app owned by former US President Donald Trump that was seen to have the highest number of prominent accounts. 
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