Expanding our Decentralized Footprint
Adding Fediverse and Bluesky to the stack
TLDR:
Open Measures users can now use our platform to access data collected from Bluesky and select Fediverse sites.
We are expanding our collection to decentralized networks in anticipation of the relevance of these sources to elections this year.
For the next 6 months, we will lift the time bound rate limits on the public tooling. View near-real time data on both of these sources
Background and Introduction
Research has shown that when a social network take action against users, they tend to move to the fringe internet. We saw this when r/The_Donald moved to “Patriots[.]win” or when deplatformed Parler users moved over to Gab and Rumble. Decentralized social platforms provide an opportunity for communities to formulate and grow without looming platform moderation. As a result, Open Measures has developed and deployed the ability to crawl decentralized sources like Bluesky and Fediverse sources like Mastodon.
Fediverse
A primer on Fediverse networks and the need for transparency
Social networks have vastly expanded beyond traditional big-tech platforms. The Fediverse - comprising decentralized social networks like Mastodon and Lemmy - has gained prominence, to the point where big-tech is now finding ways to integrate their influence (Threads). Decentralized platforms typically promote themselves as networks that give users more control and autonomy. These networks are often backed by servers running open-source code and maintained by pseudonymous administrators. The open-source libraries running on these servers, like Mastodon, implement communications protocols that allow the servers to “federate” and share information with others using a shared protocol. One of these protocols is called “ActivityPub”, which operates as a server-to-server federation communication network.
In these implementations, content moderation is up to the individual user. Most of the time, that means that anyone on Mastodon, Lemmy, or any other decentralized network can post content without concern of their post being taken down by an automated classifier or their account suspended because of a violation of a site’s policy. That also means that these platforms are inherently and intentionally devoid of trust and safety protocols or oversight, often in the spirit of “free speech”.
Such lack of oversight presents malicious actors a clear opportunity to spread extremist hate and disinformation on these platforms without consequence. Recognizing the risk, we have integrated Fediverse monitoring into our open source platform. This initiative is driven by a commitment to promoting a safer and more transparent online environment.
Important note on our Fediverse monitoring:
We won’t pretend that we are now immediately crawling all ActivityPub sites. Our first few crawled sources released today have been flagged by our community as high-priority. We will continue to lean on our community in the expansion of our crawled instances. By opting for a “firehose” implementation, the data we collect from these sources is available near real-time.
Bluesky
A Bluesky overview
Bluesky is a US-based decentralized social network and public benefit corporation that has been spun out of an initiative that began at Twitter under Jack Dorsey’s supervision. Like the Fediverse communities detailed above, Bluesky uses a decentralized, open-source protocol. Unlike those Fediverse communities, Bluesky is run on the ATProtocol (as opposed to the ActivityPub protocol). Bluesky also bills itself as a platform that offers users the ‘freedom to choose’, differentiating itself from other private companies and black box algorithms. This freedom comes with its unique set of challenges, including the proliferation of hate and disinformation that is rampant on other lightly or un-moderated networks.
Where we come in
Starting today, Open Measures users can crawl Bluesky for posts and user profiles using our Pro API, custom-built UI, and research dashboard. We monitor Bluesky for lists of topics and terms relevant to our research community. We hope that our continued work to shine a light on networks like Bluesky can help foster a safer, healthier internet.
Commitment to open-source principles
Our open-source decentralized network monitoring provides OSINT researchers with a comprehensive tool-set to track and analyze content on the more fractured parts of the internet. By expanding open-source technology, we ensure that essential data is always available for researchers seeking to understand and combat online threats. As always, our public app remains available to any researcher with an internet connection. No login, no credentials needed.
We firmly believe in the power of open-source technology to foster collaboration, transparency, and innovation. As part of our commitment to these principles, we ensure that some of the data collected through this monitoring is accessible to the community. This approach encourages collective efforts in addressing online challenges and empowers individuals and organizations with the information needed to make informed decisions. If you’re able, consider contributing to our Open Collective wallet so we can continue building our open-source footprint.
Conclusion
The release of Fediverse and Bluesky monitoring marks a significant milestone in our ongoing mission to provide OSINT researchers with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape.
We are confident that our open-source platform will foster a safer, more inclusive online environment. Together, we can build on the power of open source technology to build towards a more transparent future for social media.
Any questions or to schedule a demo: