{"id":83666,"date":"2020-10-07T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-is-dave-rubins-new-free-speech-oasis-doing-not-great\/"},"modified":"2020-10-07T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T12:00:00","slug":"how-is-dave-rubins-new-free-speech-oasis-doing-not-great","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-is-dave-rubins-new-free-speech-oasis-doing-not-great\/","title":{"rendered":"#How is Dave Rubin\u2019s new free speech oasis doing? Not great"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af0ec6fef287\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af0ec6fef287\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-is-dave-rubins-new-free-speech-oasis-doing-not-great\/#There_are_no_hot_nearby_singles_on_locals_dot_com_just_Andy_Ngo_the_Dilbert_Guy_and_Q_fans\" >There are no hot nearby singles on locals dot com, just Andy Ngo, the Dilbert Guy, and Q fans.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-is-dave-rubins-new-free-speech-oasis-doing-not-great\/#This_weeks_top_technology_stories\" >This week\u2019s top technology stories<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#How is Dave Rubin\u2019s new free speech oasis doing? Not great<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-sub-head\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"There_are_no_hot_nearby_singles_on_locals_dot_com_just_Andy_Ngo_the_Dilbert_Guy_and_Q_fans\"><\/span>There are no hot nearby singles on locals dot com, just Andy Ngo, the Dilbert Guy, and Q fans.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content-wrapper\">\n<p>What\u2019s a site full of provocateurs when there\u2019s no one to provoke? How do you raise your profile without the free publicity getting \u201ccanceled\u201d provides? Libertarian co<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>n and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/05\/08\/opinion\/intellectual-dark-web.html\">intellectual dark web<\/a> gadfly <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/dave-rubin-dont-burn-this-book-review-out-of-ideas-2020-4\">Dave Rubin <\/a>attempts to answer those questions with locals.com, his crowdfunding\/social networking platform with the deceptively bland name.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Rubin Report <\/em>host was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/patreon-crowdfunding-platform-defends-itself-amid-boycott-2018-12\">inspired to create his own platform<\/a> after Patreon banned former UKIP member and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>rgate troll Carl Benjamin, aka Sargon of Akkad, from its site in 2018 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/patreon-crowdfunding-platform-defends-itself-amid-boycott-2018-12\">for using the N-word in a YouTube video<\/a>. Rubin interpreted Patreon\u2019s aversion to doing business with racists for an outright assault and free speech. But on a more practical note, Rubin made just under $10,000 per month from his Patreon and needed to protect his income should the crowdfunding site decide to stop doing business with a dude who rubs elbows and hosts interviews with those same racists.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Rubin and Jordan Peterson <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/jordan-peterson-is-leaving-patreon-should-you\">announced <\/a>they were launching a far-right friendly competitor to Patreon to valiantly defend free speech, and more importantly, the profitability of said speech. Peterson and Rubin launched the underwhelming site <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thinkspot.com\">Thinkspot<\/a> in 2019 and it\u2019s been relatievly unheard from since (possibly do to Peterson being incapacitated for the better part of a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/things-are-not-good-right-now-jordan-peterson-battling-covid-19-u-k-paper-reports\">year<\/a>). But in 2020, Rubin and co-founder Assaf Lev were able to pull in a fundraising round of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.alleywatch.com\/2020\/04\/the-alleywatch-startup-daily-funding-report-4-17-2020\/\">just over $1,000,000 from 10 investors<\/a> for locals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So how\u2019s the million-dollar site doing these days?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On its homepage, locals.com bills itself as a place where you can \u201csupport your favorite creators,\u201d \u201caccess their exclusive content,\u201d and \u201cjoin communities of independent thinkers and like minded people.\u201d It\u2019s also a place where content creators and aspiring influencers can cultivate a \u201csub<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>ion based income stream without fear of censorship or deplatforming.\u201d Locals is a place where you can find your people, assuming your people espouse insidious conspiracy theories about George Soros.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The name \u201clocals\u201d sounds like a platonic Adult Friend Finder-type site, if one of th\u00a0 friends you were looking to find was, for example, a self-described \u201cwife, mother, Silicon Valley Chief Executive Officer, Start-up Founder, Entrepreneur, Global Human Resources Consultant, Non-Profit Board Member &amp; Advisor, Non-Fiction Author, and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly concerned citizen\u201d posting under the name <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/gametheorypolitics.locals.com\/\">Game Theory Politics<\/a> who claims to have \u201cdiligently followed Q since 2017\u201d and is a true believer. She claims to have authored several books on game theory and her feed consists of Q memes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrue Q researchers and followers are God fearing patriots who want to see equal justice under the law \u2013 and worldwide child trafficking networks dismantled,\u201d Game Theory politics writes in an essay-length response to another user who commented on her page. She adds: \u201cWe are not a cult \u2013 nor do we worship President Trump or Q. We are digital soldiers preserving our constitution and the promise of America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In other words, it\u2019s a safe space for self-styled provocateurs, conspiracy theorists, and free speech warriors who claim to despise safe spaces.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Donald Trump Jr., who wrote a whole book about being \u201c<em>Triggered<\/em>,\u201d used <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/triggered.locals.com\/\">locals<\/a> to promote it.  <\/p>\n<p>Locals is ambitious in the sense that its users want to build or maintain a niche fame, but sidestep the scrutiny and accountability that typically accompanies notoriety. On its face, it seems most attractive to the Dave Rubins and <em>Dilbert<\/em> Guys of the world who already have large followings and want to protect the bag in the wake of YouTube, PayPal, or other Silicon Valley platforms deciding to boot them after say, hosting interviews with white supremacists and amateur phrenologists. Reviled friend to fascists everywhere Andy Ngo maintains his own locals community called the NGO-GO ZONE and boasts over 4,000 members. For a minimum of $5 per month, you can view subscriber-only content and mix it up with the kind of people who would gladly pay actual money for Ngo\u2019s far-right agitprop. A bargain at any price.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On his locals community page, Coffee with Scott Adams, the <em>Dilbert <\/em>Guy isn\u2019t giving anything away for free. If you want to see videos of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottAdamsSays\/status\/1303332301795852294\">the little fireside chats<\/a> Adams live streams on Periscope every day, it\u2019s gonna cost you at least $7 a month. Of course, you can always give more. In fact, Adams insists it\u2019s to your benefit to give as much as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more support I get, the harder I work. I couldn\u2019t turn off that reflex if I tried,\u201d Adams explains in his subscriber page. \u201cSo if you want to inexpensively manipulate me into doing better work for your selfish pleasure, this is the place to do it. Thank you in advance.\u201d If the content is bad, it\u2019s your fault for not donating more. Open that wallet, chief, and let Adams school you on \u201cthe topics of persuasion, presidential politics, the nature of reality, life improvement, and anything else that is useful or makes you feel good.\u201d Just in case you were wondering if Adams\u2019 motivations were anything less than altruistic, he adds: \u201c Sometimes I learn things just to tell you about them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He also, though, uploads a great number of the videos to Twitter, so you can just as easily get them for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Another thriving locals content creator is lifestyle influencer Classically Abby, aka Ben Shapiro\u2019s more telegenic sister. \u201cWho am I?\u201d asks Classically Abby\u2019s locals About page.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a trained opera singer (with three degrees in operatic performance), a lover of all things fashion, a self-taught makeup artist, and a wife to a wonderful husband.\u201d She continues: \u201cSo why did I choose the name Classically Abby? Because I\u2019m a classic kind of girl.\u201d Classic as in \u201cretro,\u201d \u201cthrowback,\u201d \u201cfrom another time,\u201d etc. We can read between the lines.\u00a0 \u201cA nude lip and a cat-eye never go out of style, and a flared skirt always looks great with a fun pair of heels,\u201d Abby writes. \u201c I\u2019ll almost always choose a fancy outfit over a comfy one, and I think that wearing something less revealing leaves more to the imagination.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Classically Abby is building a brand as a right-wing Goop, hosting chatty videos ranging from beauty, skincare, and fashion to pro-life screeds, all delivered in the same sing-song voice. Sometimes she finds an excuse to bust out her operatic chops. For a minimum of $10 a month, you can join the Classic Crew and get intimately acquainted with this Gen Z Phyllis Schlafly by way of Gwyneth Paltrow. \u201cI like cooking my husband dinner and I love being married,\u201d Abby promises in her About page. \u201c I have classic political views and I\u2019m not afraid to share them.\u201d All those \u201cclassic political views\u201d can be yours for just $120 a year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of the most curious content creators is Robert (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/escapemasters.locals.com\/member\/EscapeMasters\">@EscapeMasters<\/a>,)\u00a0 a motivational speaker who looks like Lindsey Graham if the senator managed a bowling alley. With his Tony Robbins\u2019 energy and affinity for gesticulating, Robert was born to lead a three-day multi-level marketing seminar in the multi-purpose room of a Holiday Inn off Rte. 70 in South Jersey. Robert is practically puking with excitement over mentoring you into your first million, but first, he wants to \u201chelp you overcome limiting beliefs and escape your current situation and mindset to a life of freedom and happiness.\u201d Freeing yourself from \u201call the self-limiting beliefs holding you back\u201d will run you at least $7 per month. Should you feel any reservations about giving Robert your hard-earned cash, make sure to watch the video where he\u2019s wearing a busy Hawaiian shirt with the third or fourth button undone while he sits in front of a collection of trophies and congratulates you \u201cfor making an incredible decision\u201d in subscribing to his content. Giving this guy your money is an incredible decision, indeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone on the platform is an outward creep, wackadoodle, reactionary, or grifter. Some people genuinely want to build communities around their art, like the Canadian couple who runs a<em> Prairie Home Companion<\/em>-style musical podcast or the dude who posts excerpts of his sci-fi novel in progress. Creators of all s<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>es share the podcasts, videos, and blog posts they produce, but it\u2019s hard to see how anyone who didn\u2019t already have a following prior to locals builds one on the platform. As a social networking site, it\u2019s difficult to navigate and the user experience doesn\u2019t lend itself to discovery. Plus, the site doesn\u2019t seem like it gets a lot of eyeballs on it to begin with. According <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/website\/locals.com\/#overview\">to SimilarWeb\u2019s analytics<\/a>, locals got about 555,000 visitors in August compared to<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/website\/patreon.com\/#overview\"> Patreon\u2019s 77.7 million visits<\/a>. For comparison\u2019s sake, Parler, the free speech warriors\u2019 answer to Twitter got 5.82 million visits in August. It seems like locals is hosting mostly tumbleweeds. Perhaps that\u2019s just what happens when you create a safe space for people tired of defending their beliefs but are unwilling to examine why those beliefs require constant defending.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"This_weeks_top_technology_stories\"><\/span>This week\u2019s top technology stories<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>In the 2020 election, killing Section 230 is the only bipartisan issue <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Trump blasted TikTok for collecting \u2018vast swaths\u2019 of data\u2014his 2020 app does the same thing <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Will a Biden-Harris administration break up big tech?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Right-wing militias have adopted QAnon with frightening ease <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>6 signs it\u2019s time to get a new phone (Sponsored)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dailydot.us18.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=557794e049a42cb8dcdf4eacc&amp;id=14207741b3\"><em>Sign up<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0to receive the best of the internet straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"dd-article-leadart-image-credit\">\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"dd-article-leadart-image-credit-segment\"><br \/>\n                                        <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/locals.com\/\">locals<\/a><br \/>\n                                    <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailydot.com\/debug\/dave-rubin-locals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How is Dave Rubin\u2019s new free speech oasis doing? Not great &#8221; There are no hot nearby singles on locals dot com, just Andy Ngo, the Dilbert Guy, and Q fans. What\u2019s a site full of provocateurs when there\u2019s no one to provoke? How do you raise your profile without the free publicity getting \u201ccanceled\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.dailydot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/locals.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}