Some in the legal sector might only have noticed far-right video platform Rumble in January of this year.
That's when it filed in California Federal court antitrust lawsuit - "Rumble v. Google LLC and DOES 1-10." That took on a giant in tech. Rumble contended that Google manipulated its algorithm to favor its own YouTube in search results - a violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. As a result, there allegedly had been reduced viewership, therefore less advertising revenue.
Worth paying attention to, right.
That was then.
More recently, Rumble has made a bigger rumble.
With its 1,800% growth in monthly viewership and investments by venture capitalist Peter Thiel and "Hillbilly Elegy" author J.D. Vance, it is a dominant presence in the social network space. That further empowers the conservative movement. Rumble's ideology is less censorship than what is standard in established social networks such as YouTube. That generates the same pull power as low-censorship social media site OnlyFans.
Rumbles' founder and Chief Executive Officer Chris Pavlovski sees its mission as increasing competition and providing freedom of choice. In The Wall Street Journal, he's quoted as saying that the Thiel and Vance investments will allow the platform to offer business cloud solutions. That, in turn, he noted "will be a major play against Big Tech."
Launched in 2013, Rumble started out beneath the radar with mostly viral videos and material from mainstream media. Then it caught fire when conservatives such as GOP Representative Devin Nunes complained of excess censorship by YouTube. They began to post their videos on Rumble. The brandname conservatives using the site range from Sean Hannity to Dinesh D'Souza. Currently users and channels on Rumble include Newsmax and OANN.
This emphasis on freedom of speech serves as a magnet to conservatives who are determined to be among the loudest voices in the determination of the future of America. However, Rumble plays it smart. It does ban those communications third rails, ranging from pornography to racist rhetoric. OnlyFans initially featured adult content but is rebranding as more in the art mode.
The potential of Rumble is obviously huge. It could be the beginning of a kind of conservative social-media ecosystem which operates legally outside the existing world of tech brandnames.
The size of the Thiel/Vance investment hasn't been disclosed but some speculate it's around $500 million. It is being led by Narya Capital.
In "Rumble v. Google," the plaintiff is represented by Burke, Williams & Sorensen.
Current monthly viewership for Rumble is at about 31 million.
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