The founders of the social media platforms Gab and Parler have hit out at video platform Rumble after Donald Trump was confirmed to have a verified account on the site.
The former president set up his Rumble account on Saturday, with his first video being a live stream of his rally in Wellington, Ohio.
Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab, a "free speech" social media app beloved by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, claimed that the same day Trump set up his account on Rumble, the site updated their terms of service to ban hateful content.
"On the day President Trump joined Rumble they changed their terms of service to ban 'hate speech' with an explicit ban on 'anti-Semitic' messages, also known as any and all criticism of Israel and/or Jewish people," Torba wrote on Gab.
"No mention of banning Anti-White hatred, which is still allowed. According to WayBackMachine a few days prior their terms did not include these things. Check it for yourself."
John Matze, who founded the conservative platform Parler before being ousted earlier this year, also criticized Rumble for being bankrolled by "big tech" while sharing a headline from fringe conspiracy theorist website National File, which alleges that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would not allow him to join Gab unless the platform banned criticism of Jewish people and Israel.
According to the Media Bias Fact Check website, National File publishes "conspiracy and pseudoscience-related news stories from an extreme right perspective," including false claims about 9/11 attacks and the Clintons being involved in human sex trafficking.
"I wonder how much equity or money Rumble had to give... The same rumble that runs entirely on Google ads. Google analytics, etc... IE big tech," Marze posted on Gab.
"Not that I think Trump's brand is worth anything anymore."
Trump was permanently banned from Twitter after his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, with Facebook announcing he will be suspended until at least 2023 over fears he could use the platform to incite violence and spread misinformation.
Despite not being allowed on virtually all major social media sites, Trump never set up an account on Gab or Parler. CNN reported in January that Kushner, as well as other advisers such as deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, advised Trump against joining Gab after he was banned from Twitter.
Parler was taken offline for weeks after it was banned by Apple and Google because it was used to plot the January 6 attack, as well as promote extremist violence.
Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington told Reuters that Trump joining Rumble was in addition to him planning to set up his own platform after his recently launched blog shut down after just a few weeks.
"It is a great way to reach the American people in a time of unprecedented assault on free speech in our country by Big Tech tyrants," Harrington said.
Rumble has been contacted for comment.
