A look at Gab, the social site of "freedom of speech" where a shooting suspect for the synagogue is posted: NPR

Towfiqu Photography / Getty Images

Towfiqu Photography / Getty Images

Updated at 5:20 am EST Monday

The suspect of the Pittsburgh synagogue shootout would have been a user of Gab, a small social networking site that prides itself on providing a platform for freedom of expression – but has become a gathering point for far right users.

An account linked to Robert Bowers, a 46-year-old resident of Pittsburgh, wrote this Saturday morning in Gab: "HIAS likes to attract invaders to kill our people, I can not sit and watch my people behave themselves. slaughter, screw your optics, I go in. " HIAS is the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a Jewish non-profit group that aims to help refugees.

Bowers said he had "a desire to kill Jews," US lawyer Scott Brady told reporters Sunday morning.

Bowers used anti-Semitic insults on Gab and called the Jews "infestation" and "problem," according to the Anti-Defamation League. Bowers also used the common slogan of white supremacy "1488" in his profile, combining the classic "14 words" of white supremacy with 88, which is the code for "Heil Hitler".

After Saturday's shooting, Gab issued a message saying, "Gab unequivocally denies and condemns all acts of terrorism and violence, which has always been our policy.We are saddened and disgusted by the news of the violence in Pittsburgh. friends of all the victims in our thoughts and prayers ".

The site indicated that he had deleted the account associated with Robert Bowers and that he was in contact with the forces of the order and that he was ready "to ensure that justice be returned.

Andrew Torba, co-founder of Gab and his CEO, said the network was created to "defend and defend freedom of expression, defend individual freedom, defend the free flow of information that I have. I have seen attacked. "

Torba is a Trump supporter who would have "been thrown out of the prestigious network of Y Accinator's old technology accelerator, Silicon Valley, for calling his colleagues' cons," the Daily Beast reported.

An informal scroll chart in Gab's bulletin boards reveals that anti-Semitism, racism, Nazism and sexism are ubiquitous in his messages, as well as conspiracy theories. The website also offers many content on social networks, including messages on music, arts and sports.

Like Alina Selyukh, of NPR, last year, "a lot of far-right members and others who feel that their opinions are stifled by classic sites such as Twitter and Facebook" have turned to Gab, who promises few restrictions on speech.

The site often responds to critics by blaming Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites for the speech that we can find on these platforms:

Christopher Cantwell, a white nationalist who made himself known and was arrested after the Unite the Right rally last year, has a page on Gab.

Paypal cut the website of its payment system on Saturday, according to Gab's Twitter feed. Paypal cited Gab's decision authorizing "the perpetuation of hatred, violence or discriminatory intolerance," according to The Verge.

Gab said later On Saturday, her hosting provider Joyent withdrew its service for the site starting Monday, which means "Gab will likely be down for weeks because of that."

On Sunday, the site issued a message stating that it would be "inaccessible for a while" after being "attacked" and that it had been "systematically banned by the App Store, hosting providers. multiple and payment processors ".

"We have been accused by the mainstream media of defending freedom of expression and individual freedom for all and of collaborating with law enforcement to ensure justice for the horrendous atrocities committed at all. Pittsburgh, "says the message. "Gab will continue to fight for the fundamental right of the man to speak freely".

The community norms on the site include some loose restrictions without an explicit prohibition of hate speech. However, they prohibit users from "claiming violence against third parties" and "threatening language or behavior that clearly undermines, directly and irrefutably, the safety of another user or user." 39, another person ".

Gab is headquartered in Philadelphia in March and also has an address in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, in a file filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September. He says he has two employees.

Gab was launched as a private beta in August 2016 and opened to the public in May 2017, according to a site-wide fundraising page. Since then, its user base has grown from 300,000 users in November of last year to around 800,000 today, the company said.

In a report filed with the SEC in March, site operators plan to appeal to "more than 50 million conservative, libertarian, nationalist and populist Internet users" who use sites like Breitbart, DrudgeReport.com and InfoWars. .com as people leave social networks. networks that "censor conservative views".