Second round. After having summoned Facebook, owner of the social network Instagram, to force it to reveal its moderation policy, some of the 14 Instagramers behind this approach (more than a million subscribers alone) will now go and see if the air is more breathable there. Tired of being cyber-harassed and not understanding why they are regularly “shadow ban”, a process that makes accounts invisible by hiding posts and stories, some of these feminist content creators announce this Wednesday join the Patreon platform. Goal ? Find a “freer” and “healthier” space for expression with their community.
Four creators and a feminist collective have taken the plunge: Clit Révolution, La Prediction and Mécréantes are gradually withdrawing from Instagram, as are Lusted Men and Merci Beaucul. Patreon is a platform that allows creators to make a living from their work by being funded by their communities. “Patreon is not yet very well known in France and I know that I will not find the 120,000 subscribers I have on Insta there. For this reason, and because I think it is also important to offer content on a free social network, I am not leaving it completely. But in a year, who knows? “Asks Elvire Duvelle-Charles, creator of Clit Revolution, which honors female sexuality to change mentalities and create a public debate.
"We are exhausted from having to deal with these cyberbullying raids"
The activist is also one of the applicants against Facebook, Instagram's parent company, accused of opacity as to its rules. Hearing scheduled in court: May 12. “It's about anticipating the future and Instagram is no longer. Many feminist accounts left Twitter, because of the violence they suffered there, for Insta which was very nice… at the beginning. Then, we gradually saw different audiences arrive, from the extreme right, masculinists… They understood that we were there now. However, we are exhausted from having to manage these cyberstalking raids which impact our mental health ”, slice Elvire Duvelle-Charles. And if these accounts do not yet completely slam the door of Insta, "we make him a big infidelity", she quips.
The four creators and the feminist collective will thus offer their community this alternative that is Patreon with more qualitative, exclusive and more personal content. "Without depending on algorithms that push to publish regularly to maintain visibility," says the platform. “It's a human-sized bubble where we can breathe, recharge our batteries, talk to each other,” adds the creator of Clit Revolution. For Thomas Koch, Marketing Director France of Patreon, “from its creation (in 2013, editor's note), Patreon's objective was to allow creators, whoever they are, to be able to make a living from their work by getting closer to their community. . We are very happy to welcome Clit Révolution, La Prediction, Mécréantes, Lusted Men and Merci Beaucul,and that Patreon be a safe and welcoming space for these creators and their audiences. "
Patreon Welcomes Over 200,000 Online Content Creators
The fundraising platform, co-founded by YouTube star Jack Conte, of the Pomplamoose group, and developer Sam Yam, therefore applied sponsorship to the industry of online content creators to enable them to establish a monthly income. continuous and predictable.
Today, it welcomes more than 200,000, supported by more than 6 million active contributors.
A drop of water for now, compared to Instagram and its 21 million users in France.
As for the lack of transparency criticized against Facebook, Thomas Koch compares and reassures: “our moderation team, which represents more than 10% of our workforce, establishes a dialogue with the creators and helps them better understand the moderation rules of our community . "" It's very easy to reach them, agrees Elvire Duvelle-Charles. When I think we've been trying to have a dialogue with Instagram for over three years… ”
