DLive
Livestreaming | |
Founded | December 2017 |
---|---|
Area served | Worldwide |
Founder(s) | Charles Wayn and Cole Chen |
Industry | Internet |
Parent | Rainberry, Inc. |
URL | dlive |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | September 2018 | (relaunch)
DLive is an American video live streaming service which was founded in 2017. It was purchased by BitTorrent in 2019. Due to the site's lax enforcement of prohibited content guidelines, DLive has become a popular alternative to YouTube and Twitch among white nationalists, conspiracy theorists, neo-Nazis, and other extremists.[1][2][3][4] The site is also used by gamers as an alternative to Twitch.[5]
DLive uses a blockchain for its donation systems. It originally operated on the Steemit blockchain, before switching to the Lino network upon its relaunch in September 2018, and later TRON network after its 2019 purchase by BitTorrent.
Company history
DLive was founded in December 2017 by Charles Wayn and Cole Chen, who studied at the University of California, Berkeley.[4][6] Initially based on the Steem blockchain, it was relaunched in September 2018 on the Lino Network blockchain.[7][8] With the launch, DLive billed itself as a streaming site which did not take a cut of streamers' revenue, a policy that lasted until December 2020.[4] Instead, 90.1% of subscription and gift revenues went directly to streamers while the other 9.9% was streamers' daily performance on the site.[6]
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones temporarily moved to DLive after being banned from YouTube, but was also banned by DLive for violating its community guidelines in April 2019.[1] By that month, DLive self-reported 3 million monthly active users and 35,000 active streamers.[6] In the same month, YouTuber PewDiePie signed an exclusive livestreaming deal with DLive, which lasted until his return to YouTube in May 2020.[6][9] In the two months after the signing, DLive's userbase grew by 67%.[3]
By late 2019, DLive was purchased by
Towards the end of 2019, DLive began attracting users from the
User base and far-right content
DLive viewers can tip content creators with a currency called "lemons". Many of the site's far-right streams are only accessible after opting to see "x-tagged" content.[4]
Unlike right-wing media alternatives such as
A former DLive employee, who spoke anonymously to
Use in U.S. Capitol attack
During the attack at the
One week after the attack, white supremacist and Groyper
An analysis performed in January 2021 following the attack showed that approximately 95 percent of the views on DLive's streams that day went to far-right streamers, at least nine of which were present at the Capitol.[4] After the storming, Jewish-American magazine The Forward wrote a piece describing DLive as "A safe haven for Neo-Nazis".[12]
On February 9, Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Jackie Speier sent a letter to DLive calling on the company to explain how it moderates extremist content, specifically requesting information on anonymous funding of bad actors and whether or not the company still intended to tolerate extremists using the platform to advocate for offline violence.[17][18]
DLive has also been used by several channels to promote the discredited and disproven QAnon conspiracy theory.[19] As of March 2021, DLive streams "Patriots' Soapbox", a relatively high-profile QAnon channel.[20][21]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Cohen, Libby (1 January 2020). "White nationalists are moving from YouTube to DLive". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ a b Gais, Hannah; Edison Hayden, Michael (17 November 2020). "Extremists Are Cashing in on a Youth-Targeted Gaming Website". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bergengruen, Vera (20 August 2020). "How Far-Right Personalities and Conspiracy Theorists Are Cashing in on the Pandemic Online". Time. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ McKay, Tom (24 February 2021). "Your Travel Guide to the Rudderless Right-Wing Web After Trump". Gizmodo. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d Spangler, Todd (9 April 2019). "PewDiePie Picks DLive as Exclusive Live-Streaming Platform, Will Donate Up to $50,000 to Other Creators (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "DLive is joining the Lino blockchain, moving away from Steem". DLive. 21 September 2018. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- Venture Beat. Archivedfrom the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ Stephen, Bijan (4 May 2020). "PewDiePie signs exclusive live-streaming deal with YouTube". The Verge. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ Andrews, Frank; Pym, Ambrose (24 February 2021). "The Websites Sustaining Britain's Far-Right Influencers". Bellingcat. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ a b Boigon, Molly (7 January 2021). "Banned from YouTube? Welcome to DLive, a safe haven for America's neo-Nazis". The Forward. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Building a Safe and Welcoming Community". DLive. 9 January 2021. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ Petrizzo, Zachary (9 January 2021). "Nick Fuentes, 'Baked Alaska' banned from DLive following Capitol riots". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Patch.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ Keierleber, Mark (1 February 2021). "How white supremacists recruit teen culture warriors in gaming communities". Fast Company. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Kelly, Makena (9 February 2021). "DLive is under congressional scrutiny over Capitol attack". The Verge. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Cameron, Dell (21 July 2021). "U.S. Intel Officials Eyed DLive as Recruitment Vehicle for Neo-Nazis Targeting Young Gamers". Gizmodo. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Kaplan, Alex (19 January 2021). "DLive may have cracked down on some extremists following the Capitol attack, but QAnon supporters remain on the platform". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ MacDonald-Evoy, Jerod (18 March 2021). "Paul Gosar plans to go on a popular QAnon talk show". Arizona Mirror. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ Gilbert, David (19 March 2021). "Paul Gosar Swears He's Not Appearing on an Unhinged QAnon Channel". www.vice.com. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
Further reading
- Nicas, Jack; Alba, Davey (10 January 2021). "Amazon, Apple and Google Cut Off Parler, an App That Drew Trump Supporters". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- Kiparoidze, Mariam (9 July 2021). "Far-right influencers made thousands of dollars a day on a little-known gaming platform". Coda Story. Retrieved 10 July 2021.