Twitter no longer allows unlogged in users to view Twitter Threads/Profiles. This is what Indians should do instead
[Update #1, 2024: Twitter still does not allowing viewing threads and replies for unlogged in users. Gettr has an on-and-off relationship with TOR and certain VPNs. It is possible to signup and use it on Tails OS.
Truth Social only allows viewing the first page of a Truth, which can be very long. They allow you to view the rest of the Truths a user has made but require phone number to make an account. This might change as a consequence of the $300 million infusion they got as a result of the successful March 22nd merger.
Despite these changes, the point still stands: India’s voice needs to reach the world out there.
Update #2, February 2024: According to a report from the leftist website Motherjones, Gettr is reportedly in the process of laying off staff and may be facing potential shut down soon. This comes after the platform had previously temporarily let go of their cybersecurity team in 2021, just before the creator filed for bankruptcy. Given this recent development, it may be risky to continue using Gettr at this time.
It makes more sense to use Gettr on Tails OS, if at all, and use Truth Social instead.]
The removal of the phone number requirement in order to create an account on Twitter was one among the many changes made there after Elon Musk took control. Prior to this, creating an account required entering your phone number. Additionally, you need it when using a VPN, because occasionally virtual phone numbers don’t function. Those who preferred Reddit to remain anonymous kept off of it.
It is well known that Twitter is a loss making company. It hosts a lot of porn, which is permitted by its policy, but recently adjusted it so that only logged-in users can view them. With so many bots, it also chose to block non-logged-in users from viewing retweets, likes, and even the profile page and descriptions of other users.
Even then, it takes a week of account activity for your tweets to be seen. Even if other users have allowed direct messages, it might not be possible to DM them. Currently, logging in is required to read a Twitter user’s description panel, where they may provide their email or phone number.
Elon is taking these actions as a result of the bots that scrape tweets for machine learning and AI training. It raises costs and wastes their server’s capacity.
What therefore should Indian Twitterati do?
Koo is totally hopeless, and their UI team ought to be fired, though I doubt they ever existed. Even after three years, it is still a big mess. A person’s bio only displays a few lines; to see more, you must press it, wait for the expanded box to appear, and then watch a sluggish animation.
[Update: This experience has been consistent on Brave browser connected to a VPN. I have been informed that it is much smoother on other browsers. Koo’s developers should rectify this, as Brave is very widely used.]
When you come back the next day, the videos you bookmarked won’t play. Everything moves at a sluggish pace. Koo had a lot going for it, and it’s astonishing how such a terrible product can exist in a nation with so many talented IT workers. The fact that you may now create an account without a phone number or a Gmail account is welcome. However, everything else is awful.
What other choices are there, then?
Facebook operates Threads, an alternative to Twitter. They ‘protect its users’ by deprioritizing right-wing users, which is censorship. Although Indian Express has a profile on the platform, it doesn’t appear to be very active. We should boycott it.
The three platforms where Indians personalities can start an account are:
- Gettr
Run by anti-Chinese government activists living in the USA, Gettr is the most widely used right-wing/centrist platform. It has around 10 million users with many famous Europeans politicians from UK, France, rest of Europe, and South America on it. There are also MAGA heavyweights like Steve Bannon, who has interviewed members from the Republican Hindu Coalition.
Occasionally, they talk about Indian issues from time to time, engaging with OpIndia’s Nupur J Sharma.
Gettr is easy to use, and they are generally pro-India. Pakistani trolls are there to try and paint India in a negative light. Indian IT cells need to reply to them and post pro-India content. I have used Gettr (I don’t disclose that I am Indian as I live in a European country and communicate in their language) and found it to be a very smooth experience. Videos, photos, posts can all be shared and viewed easily. Search can be performed and content viewed even if you are not logged in.
There was a case against Gettr’s founder alleging some fraud, but the site is still running nearly six months since. They have created a new TikTok style app called Gtok, and a way to donate tokens to creators which they can exchange for money. At the very least Twitter threads by Indians should be mirrored to their Gettr pages so that others can view them easily. They should also leave a link to the Gettr thread in the first tweet.
Drawbacks: Gettr once refused to fully disclose the IP address of a cyber criminal who used the site. They also seem to discourage users on TOR.
Depending on how the fraud case against the site goes, the site’s future may be in question. But since it’s been six months, it can be assumed that it won’t happen. They are anti-CCP, so there might be many hacking attempts. Use a different password and a secondary email to signup, so that even if anything is hacked, it won’t affect your Twitter account.
2. Truth Social:
It is an app created by Donald Trump. It was released in February 2022 and marketed as a way to hear Trump’s thoughts. It didn’t get much visitors as the site, like Gettr in its initial year, required phone number verification. It was open to Americans only.
In June they changed the rules to allow global signups. Phone number requirement was removed until a deluge of trolls necessitated its reintroduction.
Nigerians were a notable group that used the site then after Twitter became unavailable in their country. Truth Social is based on Mastodon and mostly works without any problem.
As of 2024, they have nearly 9 million users. As a result of DWAC’s successful merger with Trump Media and Technology Group on March 22nd, 2024, they now have access to more than $300 million in cash.
The majority of the ads are for Trump-supporting companies. You can join a variety of groups, and not all of them are political. There are groups for music, cooking, hobbies, movies, etc.
There are also groups like “History” where posts in the form of infographics are shared on a variety of topics including politics and history. There are pro-Palestinian, pro-Israeli, pro-Russian posts and texts along with the regular pro-MAGA posts. There are even posts criticising religion and Trump himself. As long as there is no threat of violence, it is allowed.
Truth Social did not and still does not allow non-US VPNs to access the site because they were unable to access their funds for more than a year.
You can log in on Tor or if you are on a US VPN server.
And obviously, using the site on regular internet is also allowed.
Since the TMTG manages it, it is reasonable to assume that they will respect the privacy of international users. A lot of right-wing Americans are against woke NGO’s, so showing them what these organizations are doing in India can win them over.
At least some threads that are pertinent to the two nations (such as exposés about Pakistani accounts sending offensive and racist tweets while operating under Hindu names) deserve a place on Truth Social.
Drawbacks: The US government dislikes the website. There could still be bugs since the team has not accessed their funds. Though there will be more freedom of speech on TS than on Twitter, there are still some speech regulations in place to keep the app on the Apple and Play stores.
Due to the risk of hacker attack (none reported so far) exposing your personally identifying data, it is recommended to use an email account and phone number not connected to your real life identity. Your password must be unique and not reused anywhere else.
The apps for Gettr and Truth Social are both accessible in India.
3. Tooter.in
When Tooter first launched in the summer of 2020 and was “discovered” in November of that same year, it was a massive joke.
It featured the same blue and white color scheme, a conch in place of a bird, and a user agreement promising to support the first Amendment with additional protections for Californian citizens (it has since been modified). All of this comes from a Telangana-based business.
The prime minister and defense minister each had verified accounts, but these were only fake accounts that had been scraped from Twitter.
It is currently a ghost town with only a bot in the feed. Koo undoubtedly has more engagement and activity than Tooter.in
But why do I prefer this app to Koo? Because Tooter is infinitely easier to use.
Some “toots” take a moment or two to post, but it does function. You can sign up with any email address even though it states that only Google and Yahoo accounts are permitted. Phone number is not needed, and Tor logins are supported. (On Tor, you cannot play videos.)
Tooter is an Indian alternative that might be worth some attention due to its convenient UI and UX. There is a chance that its cybersecurity is weak. However, I recommend to at least test out this website for activist posts and threads.
In terms of usability, it easily beats Koo.
Drawbacks: Low activity and small budget. The website’s future is uncertain. The discovery feature is very bad but this might change if new users join. Signing up for the website is possible but there seems to be a zooming in issue. But after signup, everything goes smoothly.
