Gab Glossary

Plain-English definitions of free speech, privacy, and parallel-economy terms — and what they mean on Gab.

Values

  • Christian Faith Central to Gab's founding values — Gab was built by a Christian founder on Christian principles, welcoming all regardless of faith.
  • Family Values Social and political positions prioritizing traditional family structures, parental rights, and protection of children.
  • Faith and Freedom The pairing of religious conviction and free speech values that defines Gab's founding — both protected against the same censorship forces.
  • Traditional Values Cultural, religious, and social norms that have characterized Western civilization — increasingly contested in mainstream institutions and media.
  • Religious Liberty The right to hold and practice religious beliefs without government interference — increasingly under pressure from institutions and platforms.

Crypto & Finance

  • Cryptocurrency Digital money secured by cryptography and decentralized ledgers — operating outside central bank and payment processor control.
  • Bitcoin The original decentralized cryptocurrency — digital money that can't be censored, frozen, or devalued by any authority.
  • Self-custody Controlling your own cryptocurrency private keys rather than trusting a third-party exchange — true ownership of digital assets.
  • Crypto Wallet Software or hardware that stores your cryptocurrency private keys and manages digital asset transactions.
  • Stablecoin A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset (usually the US dollar) to reduce price volatility for everyday transactions.
  • Cash Physical currency — the original privacy-preserving payment method, renewed as a parallel economy tool against digital surveillance.
  • Precious Metals Gold and silver as stores of value outside the banking system — inflation hedges and financial independence tools popular in parallel economy communities.
  • Crowdfunding Raising funds from many small contributors for a project or cause — subject to deplatforming on mainstream platforms like GoFundMe.
  • Creator Monetization How content creators earn money online — a major battleground as mainstream platforms demonetize independent and conservative creators.

Movement

  • Free Speech The right to express opinions and ideas without government censorship or retaliation.
  • First Amendment The U.S. constitutional provision protecting free speech, press, religion, and assembly from government restriction.
  • Freedom of Expression The broad human right to communicate ideas freely, including speech, press, art, and digital expression.
  • Parallel Economy A network of businesses and consumers trading on shared values — free speech, independence — outside Big Tech gatekeepers.
  • Alt-tech Technology platforms built as alternatives to Big Tech, prioritizing free speech and independence from mainstream censorship.
  • Big Tech The dominant technology companies — Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft — that control the digital economy and much of online speech.
  • Censorship The suppression of speech or information by an authority — increasingly applied to viewpoint-based platform moderation.
  • Content Moderation The practice of reviewing and removing user content that violates platform policies — a major source of free speech debate.
  • Content Neutrality The principle that speech rules apply equally regardless of the viewpoint being expressed.
  • Viewpoint Discrimination Applying different rules to speech based on political or ideological viewpoint — a First Amendment violation when government does it.
  • Deplatforming The removal of a person, group, or business from a platform for political or ideological reasons.
  • No-platforming The practice of denying someone a platform to prevent their views from spreading — the ideological case for deplatforming.
  • Debanking Closure of bank accounts or payment services for political or ideological reasons — economic censorship.
  • Shadowbanning Silently limiting an account's content visibility without the user's knowledge — covert platform censorship.
  • Cancel Culture The practice of withdrawing support or platform from someone deemed to have said something offensive, often through coordinated online pressure.
  • Fact-checking Verifying claims for accuracy — and, on social platforms, a contested label system that critics say suppresses political speech.
  • "Misinformation" A contested label for false or misleading speech — whose definition is often disputed and applied in politically biased ways.
  • "Disinformation" Deliberately false information spread with intent to deceive — a label widely misused to suppress political speech.
  • "Hate Speech" A contested label for speech targeting protected characteristics — no legal definition in the U.S., widely used to justify platform censorship.
  • Echo Chamber An environment where people only encounter information reinforcing existing beliefs — often cited as a risk of algorithmic social media.
  • Digital Town Square A metaphor for online spaces where public discourse happens — used to argue that dominant platforms should protect free speech like public squares.
  • Section 230 The U.S. law shielding websites from liability for user content — the foundation of the modern internet and subject of intense political debate.
  • Prior Restraint Government action that prevents speech before it happens — the most serious First Amendment violation.
  • Chilling Effect When fear of consequences causes people to self-censor — suppressing speech without direct government or platform action.
  • Overton Window The range of ideas considered politically acceptable at a given moment — shifting it is a primary goal of both censors and free-speech advocates.
  • Marketplace of Ideas The principle that truth emerges from free competition between ideas — the philosophical foundation of free speech.
  • Streisand Effect When an attempt to suppress information causes it to spread far more widely than it would have otherwise.
  • Surveillance Capitalism The business model of collecting personal data to predict and influence behavior — the foundation of Google, Facebook, and Big Tech.
  • Digital Sovereignty The principle that individuals and institutions should control their own digital data and infrastructure, independent of Big Tech gatekeepers.
  • Mainstream Media Established, dominant news outlets — used critically to describe perceived institutional bias toward establishment narratives.

Gab Platform

  • Gab A free-speech social network where users post, follow, and discuss freely — without Big Tech moderation.
  • Gab Social The core social networking product at Gab.com: posts, groups, feeds, clips, video, live, news, and DMs.
  • Gab AI Gab's uncensored AI chat and image generation product — no politically motivated content filters.
  • GabPRO Gab's optional paid subscription tier that adds power-user tools and supports the platform.
  • Gab Marketplace A listing platform where sellers post products and buyers contact them directly — Gab does not facilitate marketplace transactions.
  • Gab Groups Moderated communities within Gab Social where users gather around shared interests and topics.
  • Gab Feeds Curated content channels within Gab Social organized around topics or sources, not just individual accounts.
  • Gab Clips Gab's short-form vertical video feature, a free-speech alternative to TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
  • Gab Video Gab's long-form video hosting feature — publish video without YouTube's demonetization and removal risk.
  • Gab Live Gab's real-time live streaming feature — broadcast without the ban risk of YouTube Live or Twitch.
  • Gab Chat The direct messaging feature on Gab Social for private one-on-one and group conversations.
  • Gab News A built-in news aggregator within Gab Social surfacing stories from independent and mainstream outlets.
  • Gab Trends Real-time trending topics and hashtags on Gab Social, surfaced without editorial interference.
  • Gabber Informal term for a user of Gab Social — someone who actively posts and participates on the platform.
  • Repost Sharing another user's post to your own Gab timeline, similar to a retweet on Twitter.
  • Verified Account on Gab A badge indicating a real, authenticated identity on Gab — granted by Gab, not purchased.

Business

  • Interactive Media & Services The S&P GICS industry classification covering social media, search, and user-interactive content businesses like Google, Meta, and Gab.
  • The 1% Rule of Online Communities 90% lurk, 9% occasionally contribute, 1% create most content — the participation inequality that shapes all online communities.
  • Network Effect A product becomes more valuable as more people use it — the competitive moat that makes dominant social networks so hard to displace.
  • User-generated Content (UGC) Content created by users — posts, comments, videos, photos — rather than by the platform itself. The core product of social media.
  • Regulation A+ Offering An SEC-regulated fundraising mechanism letting companies raise capital from the general public — community ownership, not just institutional investors.

Culture

  • Meme A piece of content — image, phrase, or video — that spreads through copying and mutation, shaping online culture and debate.
  • Shitposting High-volume, low-effort, deliberately absurdist or provocative posting — a distinct internet communication style and political tool.
  • Copypasta Text repeatedly copied and pasted across the internet — from humorous to intentional messaging campaigns.
  • Ratio When a post receives far more replies than likes — a social media signal that the post was widely considered wrong or dunked on.
  • Based Holding an unpopular opinion confidently, without caring about social disapproval — grounded in your own convictions.
  • Red-pilled Having your worldview fundamentally changed by information contradicting mainstream narratives — borrowed from The Matrix.
  • Normie Someone who holds mainstream opinions and is unfamiliar with internet subcultures — used affectionately or dismissively.
  • NPC Slang comparing people who unthinkingly repeat mainstream narratives to video game NPCs with no independent thought.
  • Touch Grass Internet slang telling someone to go outside — a reminder that the online world is not the whole world.
  • Chronically Online Someone whose worldview is shaped almost entirely by internet discourse — often disconnected from offline reality.
  • Astroturfing Creating a false impression of organic grassroots support through coordinated fake accounts, bots, or organized messaging campaigns.
  • Brigading Coordinated group harassment — flooding a target with hostile replies, reports, or downvotes to silence or overwhelm them.
  • Sockpuppet Account A fake online identity operated by someone to support their own positions or attack others while concealing their real involvement.
  • Bot Account An automated social media account posting or engaging at scale without human control — used for spam, astroturfing, or platform manipulation.
  • Ban Evasion Creating new accounts to circumvent a platform ban — prohibited on virtually every social platform.
  • Concern Trolling Feigning concern for a group or cause in order to undermine it — a bad-faith disruption tactic.
  • Free Association The right to choose your own associations and community members — the philosophical basis for community-level moderation.

Privacy & Security

  • VPN A tool that encrypts your internet connection and masks your IP address to improve privacy and bypass geographic blocks.
  • Pseudonymity Using an assumed name online while maintaining a consistent identity — more accountable than full anonymity, more private than real names.
  • Anonymity Online The ability to use the internet without revealing your real identity — essential for free speech, whistleblowing, and privacy.
  • Doxxing Publishing someone's private personal information online to harass, intimidate, or silence them.
  • Swatting Making a false emergency call to send armed police to someone's home — a dangerous escalation of online harassment.
  • Third-party Cookies Tracking files placed by outside parties while you browse a site — the primary mechanism for cross-site advertising surveillance.
  • End-to-end Encryption Encryption so only sender and recipient can read messages — not the platform or governments. A gold standard for private communication.
  • Metadata Data about data — who you contact, when, from where — often more revealing than content itself, and harder to protect.
  • Data Broker A company that collects and sells personal data about individuals — often without their knowledge or meaningful consent.
  • Adtech The software infrastructure behind digital advertising — real-time bidding, behavioral targeting, tracking, and measurement.
  • Progressive Web App (PWA) A website installable on your phone that works like a native app — how Gab is available on mobile without the app stores.
  • Sideloading Installing an app directly on your device without going through an official app store.
  • App Store Censorship Removal of apps from Apple or Google's stores for political or ideological reasons beyond genuine safety concerns.
  • Payment Processor A company that handles electronic payment transactions — and a key deplatforming vector for values-based businesses.
  • "High-risk" Merchant A payment processor classification used to justify higher fees or termination — increasingly applied to legal businesses for political reasons.
  • Domain Registrar A company that registers internet domain names — and a potential deplatforming vector for controversial websites.
  • Web Host A company providing the servers where websites run — cloud hosting providers have become deplatforming vectors for controversial sites.
  • CDN A network of servers that delivers web content quickly from locations near users — and a potential deplatforming chokepoint.
  • Two-factor Authentication (2FA) A login security method requiring a second verification step beyond your password — standard protection against account compromise.

Disclaimer

FAQ and glossary pages are for general information only. Product details, pricing, features, and policies can change, and individual articles may not reflect the latest version right away. Some information may be outdated, incomplete, or incorrect despite our best efforts.

Nothing here is legal, financial, or professional advice. For authoritative terms, see our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. For current GabPRO and Gab Ads offerings, visit pro.gab.com and grow.gab.com.

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