Our mission

Freedom of speech vs Freedom of consequence

Freedom of speech is not the same thing as freedom of consequence from "your" speech. Where AI grows, empathy dies. With a bot at the helm and a path free of checks and balances, coordinating a campaign against an individual or business is now quick and easy, inflicting real harm on people’s livelihoods. The difficulty in holding these platforms accountable is a serious concern. Most of these attackers hide behind bots, and create fake authors and websites that share little to no code of ethics, making it near impossible to trace.

Monetisation of disinformation

The business models of some online platforms, mainly based on advertisement, favour the circulation of dis/misinformation. The more content goes viral, the more it can be monetised. Disinformation and slander is usually more emotive, therefore more people are likely to click on the link. It’s also important to be aware that some fraudulent online sites are modelled after real ones, but are developed and controlled by scammers.

AdTech companies are breaking the media ecosystem

Companies might not be aware that they are funding disinformation or hate speech with their ad money. The middleman, AdTech companies, are responsible for placing these ads on online platforms, sometimes prioritising click through rates instead of complying with brand safety promises.

Mental health implications

Anyone, anywhere could suddenly have their life uprooted by false or harmful content online. The more we interact with the digital space, the more it merges with the real world. As such, these attacks could and do have real life repercussions, seriously impacting victims’ livelihoods, mental and physical health.

Going offline is sadly not an option for many who are required to maintain an online presence as part of their career. The sad thing is that many good people want to do great things but refuse to be public for fear of being harassed or threatened online.