#wsocial

Boosted by

@Wuzzy@cyberplace.social · 8h ago

#Mastodon > #WSocial. Mastodon: 100% free software. 🎉 W Social. Isn't.👎 Mastodon: Global, as all cool Internet things should be. 🌐 W Social: Eurocentrist. 🤮 Mastodon: Does not want you to hand over your passport. W Social: Does.😡 Mastodon: No ads for 10 years. W Social: Already threatened to introduce ads by 2027. 😂 Why should I register on W Social again? What’s the point?

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lia

@lianna@micro.webgarden.click · 16h ago

After Bluesky, Threads, and so on, the whole #WSocial thing is another reminder that it was never about the #Fediverse being "too complicated" or "just for nerds". A bafflingly large amount of people genuinely only act on a gut feeling telling them that only commercial products with fancy marketing owned by a for-profit corporation can be trustworthy, 'official' and 'legal', for the lack of a better word. If something is a commercial offering by a competent-looking, rich family man in a suit, it's clearly an official, legal, trustworthy product. You can be proud of using such a fancy-looking service. When they see a community-run open-source project or a grassroots initiative, their first instinct is that it must be shady, illegal, complicated, broken or predatory in some way. It's probably some aftermarket grey area bootleg made by weird tech nerds, political groups with an ulterior motive, conspiracy theorists or some naive teenage hackers. They'd also be embarrassed for using it in front of their peers and neighbours; who uses some free back-alley software, are you poor or something? The same people are the reason why Google is using the word 'sideloading', why scammers love wearing fancy suits, why people suddenly act childishly helpless in front of LibreOffice, or why DIY HRT is so demonised. They trust any kind of 'official approval' over their own senses. If someone does something that isn't 'approved', they're a bad person or clearly endangering themselves and others. No idea why exactly, but psh, it must be wrong somehow, or everyone would do it, right? If people on the Fediverse understood that the whole "it's all so complicated and clunky" thing is just a thinly veiled excuse for a general disdain for non-commercial software, we could finally stop making all our software imitate their corporate equivalents in a futile attempt to appease people who never gave us a chance in the first place. You'll never convince them to treat it in good faith no matter how much effort or money you put into UX or 'ease of use'. All you're doing is making the software worse, e. g. through things like dot-social, verified accounts or begging brands, corporations and politicians to join and give your product some kind of 'official' validation. #mastodon #openSource #linux

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The Nexus of Privacy

@thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange · 1d ago

RE: https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116766280029168108 "W Social" is launching their beta today today, following Eurosky as another European AT Protocol based Bluesky-compatible platform. W's distinctiveness is that it requires identity verification, using the separate "W identity" app that "scans your passport or national identity card and verifies you directly on your own device." Unsurprisingly, W has a lot of backing from EU power structure -- including Ursula von der Leyen -- and their advisory board includes luminaries like Marc Placzek, Chief Privacy Officer at Sam Altman's Tools for Humanity (makers of the Orb identity verification device). A cynic might say that it's being built as a platform designed to fit in well with the surveillance-industrial complex. So, it'll be interesting to see how it works out. See the replies for some good articles on W social. #WSocial #atproto #surveillance

Quoting

European Commission @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu

A strong Europe needs independent digital spaces. We believe true digital sovereignty thrives on a competitive, contestable, open ecosystem where diverse platforms co-exist. Today, we’re expanding our presence to W, the new social media. By being on W, we want to boost alternatives and support all efforts toward a decentralised web. And we continue to invest into our presence on the Fediverse!

Open quoted post

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In reply to

The Nexus of Privacy

@thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange · 1d ago

@_elena@mastodon.social has had a series of good posts about W Social. W Social, Public Institutions and the Theater of European Digital Sovereignty is her latest, highlighting the contradiction of the European Commission moving to a closed-source platform. Her earlier posts are worth reading too; see the full series here. #WSocial

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In reply to

The Nexus of Privacy

@thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange · 1d ago

@markusreuter@23.social's Warum W Social mehr kalter Kaffee als heißer Scheiß ist, on @netzpolitik_feed@chaos.social, notes that W Social has already announced their plans for advertising -- and links off to an article in Blick where W Social CEO Anna Zeiter says that they won't have Bluesky-style blocklists allowing people to filter out fascists. What could possibly go wrong? #WSocial

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In reply to

The Nexus of Privacy

@thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange · 1d ago

Oh my. @kantorkel@23.social seems to have found an XSS vulnerability in W Identity. https://23.social/@kantorkel/116767220594438841 (via @robin.berjon.com on Eurosky) #WSocial

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In reply to

The Nexus of Privacy

@thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange · 12h ago

@renderg.host suggests W Social is TruthSocial with a European accent "TruthSocial wraps itself in the language of free speech, anti-establishment populism, and fighting Big Tech censorship. W Social wraps itself in the language of European digital sovereignty, verified truth, and privacy. These are not the same politics. But they are of a similar nature. Both platforms identified an audience that felt alienated from mainstream social media. Both position themselves as principled alternatives. Both built on open source community infrastructure while simultaneously obscuring that fact. Both are controlled by a small group of wealthy well-connected people with clear political ambitions. W Social's advisory board includes silicon valley execs, and senior political figures. The platform was unveiled not in a community forum but at the World Economic Forum in Davos: an event not typically associated with grassroots digital activism. None of that makes W Social evil. It does however make the "this is for the people" framing worth scrutinising." https://wecanjustdothings.leaflet.pub/3mokohkfb4224 #WSocial

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Boosted by

fedicat @fedicat@pc.cafe

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂

@elena@aseachange.com · 17h ago

How to create an account on #WSocial in 13 easy steps: choose a usernamechoose a passwordchoose your interestsdownload the #WIdentity app to your phone (two options: Apple AppStore or Google Play Store)scan a QR codecreate a PIN code optional: enable biometrics; re-enter PINchoose whether you simply want to verify that you're human or if you also want to verify your namechoose the verification method (automatic photo review, request a manual review or scan your passport chip)scan your passport's picture pagescan your passport's chiptake a selfiescan a QR code to link the W Identity to your W Social accountenter your PIN code Congratulations, you're verified*! (* for two years) Demonstration in all its simple glory here: 📺: https://inv.nadeko.net/Vcq4MiabpEQ Please save this toot as reference if you ever hear somebody say that IT'S TOO COMPLICATED TO JOIN THE FEDIVERSE BECAUSE YOU NEED TO PICK A SERVER 🤡 #SocialMedia

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Boosted by

Trending Bot @trending@homestead.social

Aral Balkan

@aral@mastodon.ar.al · 19h ago

Needless to say, do not sign up for W or give them your ID information no matter how simple they eventually manage to make it. You simply don’t need to. You’re already in a far superior – non-corporate, federated – space. Do not sign up for W. And warn your friends. The only time you have any power to stop this is now. If they succeed in gaining network effects, you will be as powerless to stop them as you are with X. And yes, they’re just another venture capital funded surveillance capitalist, people farmer, and burgeoning Nazi Bar. They just happen to be based in the EU. (As Nazi Bars traditionally have been.) #WSocial #NoWNoX #surveillance #capitalism #BigTech #VC @_elena@mastodon.social https://mastodon.social/@_elena/116770291207686239

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In reply to

Nico Jensen

@nyansen@elbmatsch.de · 1d ago

BTW die AFD Nazis sind bei #WSocial Willkommen und es gibt wohl keine Blocklisten. Ja Prost!

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Nico Jensen

@nyansen@elbmatsch.de · 1d ago

Da #wsocial gerade so ein heißer scheiß ist. Irgendwas mit Ausweis bei der Registrierung. Schon kein bock darauf. Ihr findet mich da also nicht und das wird auch so bleiben.

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In reply to

Katika Kühnreich

@Katika@chaos.social · 2d ago

@anneroth@systemli.social Whaaat? Did I miss that in your posts? Can you make it public, if you did not already did?? Do the #wSocial people think that other people do neither think nor do research?! Especially you... Well, they strongly depend on " #ai " #slop so maybe the machine that wrote to you was fed with bad training data 😆 #slopmachines

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Aral Balkan

@aral@mastodon.ar.al · 1d ago

“My fear is that W Social is just another for-profit Big Tech startup that happens to be based in the EU. We don’t need that. We don’t need more European surveillance capitalists and people farmers. We need ethical alternatives working for the common good.” – Yours truly, in @_elena@mastodon.social’s excellent expose on W Social. https://blog.elenarossini.com/w-social-public-institutions-and-the-theater-of-european-digital-sovereignty/ Do read the article to the end, especially noting the bit about the composition of their board of advisors, which includes an ex-Google AI lead and an ex-Paypal Chief [Violate Your] Privacy Officer who now works at Tools for Humanity (Sam Altman’s “Sci-fi dystopia? Hold my beer…” identity farming startup that wants to scan your eyeballs). #WSocial #EuropeWashing #PrivacyWashing #BigTech #peopleFarming #surveillance #capitalism #EU #ATProto #fediverse

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Katika Kühnreich

@Katika@chaos.social · 1d ago

Today #Wsocial is going public after a huge top-down campaign, including prominent people like #audreytang , #AnneApplebaum , & #ursulavonderleyen #AnnaZeiter , one of the founders, is connected to several businesses from finances to health, some with serious #datasecurity & #privacy issues Like #flo a #menstruation #app https://flo.health/about-us/anna-zeiter that collects tons of data & shared it with companies like #Google & #Meta - had another settlement https://www.claimdepot.com/settlements/period-tracker-data-privacy-settlement #privacy #surveillance

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Jan Penfrat

@ilumium@eupolicy.social · 2d ago

#Wsocial : We don't do #ElonMusk. #Nazis are very welcome on our platform but they must be European. @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu President: Yay, we'll join Wsocial the new European unicorn or something! 🎉 #BuyEuropean #DigitalSovereignty

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Katika Kühnreich

@Katika@chaos.social · 2d ago

#wsocial was announcing a top-down approach to get their #network working & they are doing it In the #Blick article #AnnaZeiter explains why #AliceWeidel & other #Nazis are welcome to her #socialmedia #platform https://www.blick.ch/digital/anna-zeiter-bringt-twitter-alternative-w-social-auch-alice-weidel-ist-willkommen-id22026157.html wSocial tries to become a new #Tech #empire by pulling on their personal networks & riding the problematic term of #European #Sovereignty #Lobbying the #rich & #powerful seems to pay out in the #EuropeanUnion ¯\(°_o)/¯

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Boosted by

Elena Rossini 🌈 @_elena@mastodon.social

Katika Kühnreich

@Katika@chaos.social · 2d ago

#SocialMedia of #realnameregistration , oh sorry, they call it real #humans , that advertises with " #AI " #slop #wsocial is more than problematic And already has #bots crawling it's #network Now they show that they are problematic concerning #aesthetics as well & advertise with tasteless #aislop @bildoperationen@tldr.nettime.org #realnameregistration is highly dangerous & if the company that wants to have your most private data can't save there net from bots they're not very trustworthy, are they? #tech

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Elena Rossini 🌈

@_elena@mastodon.social · 6d ago

Dear Fedi friends, Apologies for another toot about #WSocial but I am genuinely shaking right now. The @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu and its president Ursula von der Leyen have recently migrated their ATproto (Bluesky) accounts to W Social. I cannot fathom why they would pick a private enterprise whose leaders didn't even have ATproto accounts 3 months ago... and who are so open to having their users' data mined to train European AI models. My articles on them: 🔗 : https://blog.elenarossini.com/tag/w-social/ Wow. Just wow.

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In reply to

Elena Rossini 🌈

@_elena@mastodon.social · 6d ago

For context, my two articles on #WSocial didn’t include some explosive things I found out in my research because:

I was given some information on background, confidentially
I found a particular thread to be a bit distracting (aka the MEGA hats sold on a website with far right paraphernalia)

Plus there are so many white lies… a pattern of misrepresentation that makes it really hard for me to trust them.

Do I have to write a THIRD article about W now? 🫠

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In reply to

Elena Rossini 🌈

@_elena@mastodon.social · 6d ago

File under: #WSocial shenanigans I was alerted by @usti@witter.cz that the video of the Monaco AI conference presentation by W Social CEO Anna Zeiter was removed from their YouTube channel. You know, the video that I referenced in my second exposé about W Social, quoted extensively (because some of her statements were truly shocking). This is the only video that was removed from their channel. I thought I had downloaded a copy to my computer... but hey, proof from the Wayback Machine of its existence

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#wsocial

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