You're probably already familiar with the pro-Trump social network Parler. And it's likely you've heard of Rumble, the video service that conservatives are using as an alternative to YouTube.
But, are you familiar with MeWe?
The social media platform known as MeWe was actually the second most popular free app in Apple's App Store – right behind Parler – in the days following the 2020 Presidential election. While it hasn't reached that peak in some time, it's still being used by conservatives as an alternative to mainstream platforms like Facebook.
Here’s everything you need to know about MeWe, the site competing with platforms like Parler and Gettr for conservatives looking for a new online home.
What is MeWe?
MeWe is an alternative social networking site that's currently experiencing a surge in new users as Trump supporters search for new platforms in order to avoid Facebook and Twitter. It bills itself as the “next-gen social network” and centers its sales pitch to new users around data privacy and providing an ad-free experience.
MeWe is owned by a company called Sgrouples, which was actually also the name of the platform early on. It was founded by internet entrepreneur Mark Weinstein. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2019, Weinstein called himself “one of the guys who invented social media.” While that’s giving himself a bit too much credit, Weinstein was in the space early on. In 1998, he created a very early social network type site called SuperGroups, which was shut down by its investors in 2001.
In 2011, Weinstein started a new online business venture which eventually resulted in the creation of MeWe.
In his interview with Rolling Stone, Weinstein explained where the name MeWe came from.
“My life is composed of ‘me’ and then my ‘we,’ which is everybody that’s part of my life,” he said.
Who is using MeWe?
Almost everyone is using MeWe! Let me explain…
There are accounts for a number of major news outlets and personalities on MeWe. For example, here’s President Donald Trump’s account.
However, it’s not really Trump’s account. Neither he nor his team set the account up. MeWe did. The account can be followed by MeWe’s real users. It displays a feed of Trump’s tweets on Twitter in real time.
There are unofficial MeWe accounts like this for the New York Times, the NFL, Fox News, HuffPost, and even the Onion.
On one hand, it’s good that any random user can’t set up an account on this social network and pretend to be these official outlets. On the other hand, it’s also beneficial to MeWe to fill up its site with content from platforms it's trying to take on to make it seem like there’s more activity on the site than there really is.
When it comes to MeWe’s real users, it may sound a lot like Parler, but it is a bit different.
For one, MeWe wasn’t founded as a social network for conservatives. It just became one and welcomed them with open arms. The right-wing surge on the platform was first noticed in 2019 after Facebook started cracking down on vaccine misinformation. Many different types of conspiracy theorists, such as the anti-vaxxers, started joining the site, likely due to the strong anti-Facebook rhetoric pushed by the site.
Now, MeWe is experiencing a boom just like Parler as pro-Trump supporters boycott Facebook and Twitter over their anti-misinformation policies in the aftermath of Trump’s defeat in the election.
It should also be noted that unlike Parler, MeWe does have users who aren’t conservative. It’s not even all about politics like it is with Parler. There are MeWe groups for supporters of the Green Party, groups for dog and cat lovers, and arts and music groups, to name a few. However, the most active users on the site seem to be there to discuss conservative politics.
Does MeWe "censor" users?
Users joining MeWe over the past few days are met with a message by its founder, Mark Weinstein, promoting the site's rules.
“No Ads, No Targeting, No Political Bias, No Newsfeed Manipulation, and No BS!” reads Weinstein’s post.
But, again, just like Parler, MeWe is no “free speech” paradise. Obviously, there’s the usual ban on unlawful conduct and content. But, the social network’s policies also ban “obscene or pornographic content” as well as impersonating someone.
“If you’re just a regular person from around the world who has a political point of view and you’re abiding by our terms of service, that’s none of our business…[but] if you’re a conservative or a liberal and you’re spewing hate, you’re gonna be out,” Weinstein told Rolling Stone in 2019.
Weinstein also told the magazine that there were no policies banning misinformation or fake news, which he categorizes as just “opinion.” There’s lots of QAnon content on MeWe, for example.
Yet, Weinstein also stressed to Rolling Stone that MeWe does not allow the promotion of groups on its platform, meaning users have to actually seek out the content. Ironically, this is exactly how Facebook deals with many types of groups spreading misinformation concerning topics like health. Mark Zuckerberg’s network allows the content to exist, but it does not promote it.
However, last November, a MeWe spokesperson reached out to Mashable to share a blog post by Weinstein where he demands Rolling Stone retract its piece on MeWe. At the heart of the matter is Weinstein's disagreement that his platform has become an online home for the far right.
How is MeWe different from Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit?
Unlike Parler, MeWe isn’t trying to replicate every other social media site. Weinstein’s intent seems pretty clear in the marketing of the site and in his interviews: MeWe wants to be the alternative to Facebook.
This probably explains why the site tries to replicate Facebook’s user interface. Users can give thumbs up, hearts, and smiley faces to posts. They can share posts to their various feeds. There are user profiles and separate pages, as well as a groups feature for people to congregate around a specific topic.
This is all set up very similar to how it is on Facebook, down to the messiness of the UI. However, MeWe’s design does make it feel like the whole platform was bought off one of those sites that sell turnkey website solutions so you too can be the next Mark Zuckerberg!
What's the future of MeWe?
While MeWe has dropped out of the spotlight a bit since it's post-election bump, the company is still touting its success thanks to its new conservative user base.
Tweet may have been deleted
Prior to 2020, MeWe was trudging along as a fairly small alternative social platform.
For example, in 2019, Weinstein said that MeWe had 5 million users.
Then the election happened.
In the days following the 2020 Presidential election, a spokesperson for MeWe told Mashable that the platform had 10 million users, with one million of those users signing up for a MeWe account during a 72 hour stretch.
Mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower shared with Mashable that MeWe received more than 200,000 new installs on Google Play and the App Store in the U.S. during that period as well.
Fast forward to present day. In a July 2021 interview with Axios, Weinstein said that MeWe now had 20 million users. However, 20-30 percent of them are "considered monthly active users."
Obviously, MeWe still pales in comparison to Facebook’s 2.7 billion users or even Twitter’s 330 million users, but the site's growth has attracted interest from investors.
When the company reached out to Mashable in the days after the 2020 election, a MeWe spokesperson said it had raised over $18 million to date since its inception. At the time, MeWe had backing from celebrity investors such as fashion designer Rachel Roy and Lynda.com founder Lynda Weinman. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who is considered the father of the world wide web, even has an advisor role with MeWe.
Since then, MeWe has raised additional funding. In his interview with Axios, Weinstein says the company has now raised a total of $23 million. New investors in the social network include pro surfer Kelly Slater and Earth Wind and Fire bass guitarist Verdine White.
Aside from it's funding, Weinstein told Axios that the company has made over $3 million in revenue over the first four months of 2021 by selling premium subscriptions to the service. As a comparison, Weinstein said the company broke even in 2020 when it brought in just over $1 million.
Still, MeWe faces many of the same challenges any startup social media company faces today: keeping users engaged on the site when everyone they know is on the more popular platforms.
But, as MeWe’s platform fills with Trump supporters, MeWe’s success may rest on one man: President Trump.
Aside from the video platform Rumble, Trump has yet to join MeWe, Parler or any other of these alternative social networks. The former President of the United States has been suspended or banned from major platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube following the events of January 6 when Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the election results.
Related Video: How to recognize and avoid fake news
This story was originally published in January 2021 and updated in July 2021.
Topics Social Media Politics
