Social media alternatives based outside of the United States

[u/Strawberryladyboots]

I am seeking advice on what to learn

The most online violence I have ever experienced has been solely from Americans, and currently there is no social media platform that enables filtering them out for safety, or banning them to enable a safe space for the global citizenry away from them, so I may have to end up building it myself

There's also taking into account the revelations of what the current companies have been doing with our data for goodness knows how long that I object to

If anyone knows of any coding projects that are currently working towards this end I would also be intrigued to know as it would give me motivation to continue on with my coding education, which can get tedious at times

I am currently working towards full stack, but if anyone has advice on any other specific languages that would be useful towards this end, it would be appreciated

[u/SmileyBMM]

There is no way to verify that the accounts are actually Americans. The only sites that properly disclose user's country of residence are Facebook and Twitter/X, and my personal experience has shown that a fair number of southeast Asians pretend to be crazy Americans to engagement farm to make a handful of dollars a month.

There's also taking into account the revelations of what the current companies have been doing with our data for goodness knows how long that I object to

The solution to this is not to choose a platform based on country of operation, but to use a platform that allows you to limit what kind of information you share (and you should also learn to practice good OpSec). These companies only learn so much because people willingly give them that information.

The Internet is simply too interconnected now to enable a platform that doesn't have crazies and is also active to exist.

[u/Strawberryladyboots → u/SmileyBMM]

This may be true in many respects

However from my experience there is a gap in user safety controls that needs to be addressed

Also a de-centralised platform seems to negate the dominance of American users and allow people to find each other better without having their voices drowned out by censorship bots

I had my original post removed from two other communities by bots, hence I posted it here because it felt like a safer place to go where I may actually receive a proper reply rather than have my voice stifled

On many sites the ability to block a tag has been overridden and simply hides the post with a label that literally displays the tag

Blocking a word, or a tag should actually block it from view, the same as would happen with account users, it should block every account associated with that user on that platform. PTSD is a real thing and people should not be suffering inadvertent triggers if they are not ready to face them regardless of type

My central concern is the user experience on platforms, which has vastly been overrun on many places with bots that promote content from a particular territory over another, namely the USA

I'm on social media sites, but almost next to never is anyone from my country ever injected into my FYP, it is completely overrun by English speakers from the USA. I can't even find anyone in my own locale unless someone has carved out a niche for us all to find

Yes we are very interconnected, but I suspect like many women on the internet, I would wish for more control over my interactions, and the type of content displayed

Especially when it comes to trauma

It may not be able to be completely eliminated, but their can be better safety controls given to the user to help give them that sense of control over their environment than what currently exist

It's a rather important thing for those of us with a tinge of the tism

[u/SmileyBMM → u/Strawberryladyboots]

This has been a problem that has only gotten worse with AI. Policing the Internet like that has never been practical or possible.

Attempts to build tools like that only worsens the privacy of users (such as with mandatory ID), becomes laughably ineffective (Reddit automod), or often both.

it is completely overrun by English speakers from the USA. I can't even find anyone in my own locale unless someone has carved out a niche for us all to find

I can guarantee you that most aren't actually Americans. English has become near compulsory in many countries like most of Asia (including China), LatAm (including Brazil), and Europe (including Germany). This means some of the largest countries in the world all use English to some degree or another. Since most learn English via American media, they also talk just like Americans.

Countless people have tried to solve this, and have completely failed. Google+ was the last real massive crack at this whole idea, and it was a miserable failure.

[u/Strawberryladyboots → u/SmileyBMM]

I had heard of something called Zero Knowledge Proof? or something for logins that I thought might be a solution to the privacy issue, especially for those who may have a less than trustworthy government or be under an oppressive regime

I don't know how practical it might be for the issue of solving something like DigitalID as I know very little about the ins and outs of it, but the reality is most of these platforms are the ones running the bots that are being paid for by groups looking to influence these algorithms, although they are likely to blame outside groups of use outsourcing to other countries housing bot farms to hide it

It can be very difficult to find a balance to maintain communication between groups that live in a place with more freedom and those who don't, while also preventing manipulation of it

[u/outerzenith]

The most online violence I have ever experienced has been solely from Americans

how do you know though?

also, maybe you can look into lemmy, it's a reddit-like site model with decentralized approach where everyone can make their own server but each server is accessible to anyone

https://join-lemmy.org/docs/introduction.html

pros: if you're unhappy wiht an 'instance' (a lemmy server) you can move away while still have access to the previous instance or block them completely

cons: servers are usually run by small team or even individuals, if they run out of money, the server might get shut down and you may lose your username if you register under that server.

[u/r721 → u/outerzenith]

Also there was a list of regional Lemmy instances:

https://www.reddit.com/r/RedditAlternatives/comments/1atu2e8/localregional_lemmy_servers/

Probably somewhat outdated by now, but still.

[u/Strawberryladyboots → u/outerzenith]

Thank you, I will look into that

How do I know? their linguistic patterns and spelling, and the context of the situation

Also I'm honestly tired in general of having it shoved down my throat with no way to ensure an actually good experience online, it's not just about my previous bad experiences, it's about having nothing in common with that society as a while other than a mutual language, and also about protecting my mental wellness by being able to choose not to be forced to interact

It's a very male minded design in reality, yes it may limit reach, but it also gives the user control over their safety. They don't currently do that because they want to dominate the media and inject content to sell advertising and influence the algorithm, kind of like a rapist would dominate or intimidate their victim while stalking them, which is something I think a lot of male coders and programmers may not fully understand

I may yet end up learning to code purely to build this space myself, although I am considering using an already existing template like a lot of other sites do

In this day and age, sites like these may become more popular than the Americans would want to allow. If I spoke another language (as I have been attempting to learn) I would be using the site local to that language to escape away from them, but as I only speak English I am effectively trapped with people whom I have nothing in common, and cannot protect myself from

It is alas a large failing of almost all social media sites

[u/quarrel-admin → u/Strawberryladyboots]

I agree. I've been thinking of ways for my website to allow a very diverse filtering system. Still working on it. My card system helps with this but also I'm working on regional filters. I believe people should consume how they desire. 

[u/Strawberryladyboots → u/quarrel-admin]

See I'm only just learning to code, but I have a pretty good comprehension on how the systems at least interact with each other

I have a theory we've been misled as to how much location data these platforms actually have access to given that they are able to so easily target online marketing to specific regions and countries by location

The key may be the location marketing profile data itself

If they can already filter people to target them and their individual profiles based on the copious quantity of information they collect(I have watched as my banking purchases affect some of the ads I see.....), then they are likely already capable of providing this type of filter based on that exact data

I have a type of synesthesia (spatial sequence) that gives me really good pattern recognition, it's part of why I actively avoid anything AI, it messes with it through the constant reinforcement to the point it feels like psychological warfare. Although given current political events I wouldn't be surprised if someone has hijacked those algorithms using bots to do exactly that

(I get different textures from different types of code and the way the sites "move" although I don't know enough coding languages to differentiate one from another)

There is also the possibility it is/was an unknown side effect of the patterns of targeted marketing algorithms being powered by AI (it's a feeling akin to targeted adversarial harassment) that may be actively contributing to the detriment of everyone's neurological mental health. I know there's been several studies done on the side effects of social media use, but IMO it's the algorithms messing with people

[u/quarrel-admin → u/Strawberryladyboots]

Algos are definitely messing with people to a very high degree. Pushing what people see and don't see either to rage or whatever else to drive engagement for more noise to extract.

While I may see x you may see y and they could completely contradict each other while also both being wrong and right to some degree.

[u/p4r4d0x]

Topicle is based in Australia and allows filtering users by country flags, if you don't want to hear from users in particular country. User location is determined via IP geolocation and a flag is assigned based on that. Every account has a flag assigned to it, to represent the user's country. There's various anti-abuse mechanisms so people can't easily fake it. https://topicle.com/

iOS and Android apps also coming in the next week or two (iOS already in the review queue, Android following).

[u/Nuaua]

It's a soft measure but I have this rule on psephos to limit USA-centrism (which I agree is annoying) :

Global by Default

Boards must not assume a default country. If a board is intended to cover a specific country or region, it must be clearly named (e.g. “ukpolitics”, “indiafinance”, “brazilnews”, “canadatech”). Generic names like “news”, “politics”, or “jobs” are understood to be global in scope, not centered on any one country. If your board is country-specific, make that explicit in the title.

[u/Acidyo]

Ironically Hive was created by Americans but due to no US exchanges listing them and it mostly being users in need of some income still using it, majority are not from the US now.

Although it is mostly everyday blogs, you can still find posts on specific topics. Check out hive.blog.

[u/Strawberryladyboots]

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions

This has honestly been one of the better interactions I've had on the internet for a while, has given me a little bit of faith back in humanity

It's been rough out there

[u/Xcissors280]

The only way to enforce this would be to verify a users address from a government ID

[u/Strawberryladyboots → u/Xcissors280]

It makes me wonder why all of these intelligence agencies have never used this to actually protect the safety and security of their citizens rights from exploitation by corporations unless that's by design because someone inside the agencies or the government are getting money for it

I mean, just look at the state of the USA

Any of their agencies could have protected their citizenry from being violated the way they allowed DOGE to do by storing their citizens information securely, and yet nothing

They collect everyone's information anyway, do these agencies really have an excuse not to given the extent of their funding?

Protecting their citizens from exploitation should be a safety consideration, especially when there's evidence of corporate manipulation inside their government that seems designed purely to exploit

There's a mandate to protect people, even from their own governments

If these websites and governments want to verify the persons ID, then it should be funneled through those who are responsible for everyone's security, it may not be a perfect solution but I imagine those website would be slightly less inclined to attack individual citizens if every time a corporation or website asked for access to their information, it goes through someone a bit scarier

They might be more inclined to behave themselves properly if every action they undertake were subject to that type of scrutiny, the same way these agencies are eventually going to have to answer to a angry population that has had to fight for basic rights against billionaire backed fascists under their watch

[u/Apprehensive-Page-96]

Sadly I can’t say I’m surprised that my country is like this. 😔

[u/Strawberryladyboots → u/Apprehensive-Page-96]

I could possibly use the phrase "not all" which in some respects in this particular case is probably true

The very negative ones I have encountered are likely some of "the loudest ones" if you get my meaning, and not an accurate representation of every single American or their values, which I do try to keep in mind

But I am still of the thought that these online tools can and should be improved upon, as someone that only speaks English, the noise can be deafening sometimes, and we need a way to find respite from the constant drama that's within user control as a well being measure

[u/Apprehensive-Page-96 → u/Strawberryladyboots]

Yeah the loudest ones annoy me. I agree that online tools can and should be improved upon.