Gab, a Twitter-rival, used by the man accused of a gun attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue has gone offline after several technology services, including PayPal, block use of their services it with it.
Gab describes itself as a defender of “free speech and expression” with nearly 800,000 users.
It has faced criticism in the past for providing an outlet for far-right hate speakers and conspiracy theorists banned from other social networks.
The service has said it has “zero tolerance” for terrorism and violence.
It has, however, acknowledged that a verified account whose details matched those of the alleged Tree of Life Synagogue shooter had been active on its service.
The account, registered to Robert Bowers, had posted several anti-Semitic messages on the platform. And in a final update had written: “Screw your optics, I’m going in,” shortly before the Pittsburgh attack.
Gab said it was “ready and willing to work with law enforcement” and noted that the suspect “also had accounts on other social networks”.
It said “high volumes” of criminal activity were present on other social media platforms.
And it specifically criticised Twitter for having hosted posts from anti-Semites and “Isis cells”, adding no-one was calling for its competitor’s closure.
