After Backlash, MeWe Says Users Are ‘Free to Discuss’ Stop the Steal
The company’s CEO says MeWe does not enforce ‘political litmus tests’ or target political affiliations
Alternative social network MeWe became a destination for right-wing speech surrounding the Capitol riots last month. In groups and chatrooms, some users celebrated the violence in Washington, D.C., and endorsed the possibility of killing their perceived opponents.
Following the attack, MeWe announced that it was cooperating with U.S. Capitol Police and cracked down on far-right groups like Stop the Steal across the platform. MeWe says it began removing accounts and messages promoting violence and in a tweet, the company said it was removing Stop the Steal groups and encouraged people to report such communities. “We are taking Stop the Steal groups down on MeWe,” the company tweeted to me and a colleague after I reported on its evolution from a small community hub to a high profile platform championed by the far right. “If you find any, please send us the links. Thank you!”
