The website for Gab, the right-wing social network, went offline and his Twitter account also disappeared on Friday night.
From 19 February at 19:00, the website remained unavailable. The linked Twitter account, @GetOnGab, is also no longer available. The Twitter account, which previously had more than 419,000 followers, now says ‘This account does not exist.’
Some Twitter users have reported that Gab’s website was hacked as part of a cryptocurrency scam Newsweek could not independently verify the information.
Twitter Telling Newsweek that it “did not take enforcement action” on Gab’s account.
Some Twitter users have posted photos featuring Gab accounts from prominent right-wing media outlets – such as The Gateway Pundit and National File – asking people to donate money to a questionable web link.
One Twitter user with the handle @WhoIsJaneGalt said they were on Gab just before it went offline, and posted a picture showing a Gab message that was allegedly posted on Alex Jones, founder of InfoWars, just before closing. Jones’ message, which was apparently a hack, reads: “I will increase your Bitcoins quickly!”
However, other Twitter users have expressed concern that ‘Big Tech’, which means big social media and internet businesses, has removed Gab from the internet. “I’m so done, not everyone will stop until we are ALL gone,” @realCCrump wrote.
Such concerns stem from the fact that Parler, another right-wing social network, was taken offline by Amazon Web Services in January. Amazon has stopped hosting Parler on its servers due to allegations that users of Parler incited violence, including the January 6 riots at the US capital.
In early January, both Google and Apple removed the Parler app from its online stores. claims similar “threats of violence” by users. Parler’s Twitter account, @parler_app, stays online.
Marcos Calvo / Getty
On January 8, Twitter permanently banned former President Donald Trump ‘because of the risk of further incitement to violence’ following the riots in Capitol. On February 6, however, Trump returns to social media by posting a message on Gab, his first social media message since his Twitter ban.
Trump’s Feb. 6 gossip message – an image of his letter to Democratic Maryland Congressman and Chief Justice Jamie Raskin of Maryland – quickly garnered more than 62,000 likes from his 1.4 million followers. But despite his popularity, Trump has yet to return to social media in any significant way.
If Trump decides to continue his once very active social media use, Gab could be one of the only stores available to him. Facebook and Instagram both suspended his mail capabilities indefinitely. He also has not yet joined Parler, although Parler offered him money to do so.
Update (20-2-2021, 21:50): This article has been updated to include a statement from Twitter.