In a world full of ads, here's an app free of clickbait

On the new social media platform, the newest link will be posted first rather than one with the most likes


Tech Desk November 16, 2019
PHOTO: WTSOCIAL

Social media is an important part of our lives, with upgraded features that let you edit, post pictures to buy products with a click of a button.

However, unnecessary advertisement can be bothersome to many and in order to tackle this issue, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia is providing people with an alternative.

WT: Social is a platform that is a news-focused service free from advertisements that do not rely on algorithms to fill in top stories and clickbait stories.

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“It turns out the huge winner is low-quality content,” said Wales.

WT:Social relies on user donations to operate an advertisement free social network. Since its inception, the site has received more than 200 individual donations. According to Wales, the new generation of consumers are willing to pay for content they think is valuable.

“The business model of social media companies, of pure advertising, is problematic,” stated Wales to the Financial Times.

WT: Social currently stands at 50,000 users which is a small fraction of the 2 billion active monthly users on Facebook. However, Wales is hopeful that soon this community will grow into millions despite the social network not being greatly profitable, it will be sustainable.

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Another thing that sets the new social media platform apart is that the most recent link will be posted first rather than one with the most likes just like Facebook or Twitter.

This article originally published on Interesting Engineering.

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