Meet Tru Social: A Solution to Our Current Social Media Dilemma

Troll’s, fake news, misinformation. Nowadays it is almost impossible to go an entire day without hearing or seeing those words. While those terms are commonly cited as originating from the users of social media, the real culprit are the algorithms inside the platforms. As new social media apps continue to pop-up every day, the problem has only gotten bigger and began to manifest itself in more dangerous ways. The internal architecture of social media has turned platforms such as Facebook and Instagram into a threat to truth and democracy on a global level. In short, we are in the midst of a social media crisis.  

Tru Social, a new type of social media experience, is a collaboratively curated publishing space that provides a solution to the current social dilemma. Co-Founder and CEO of Tru Social, Jim Fournier created Tru.net because he saw a need for accountability on the internet that algorithms were not capable of providing. Tru is designed to help elevate truth. It offers a safe, clean, curated feed, with no ads, noise or surveillance. 

“Tru was born out of an aspiration that began 20-years ago at the Planetwork conference in San Francisco. Our focus was global ecology and information technology, but the tech community realized we needed a global social network, before that was a thing,” said Fournier.  

Tru is perhaps the only scalable alternative to traditional social media that doesn’t use an algorithm; instead, it creates a new model where real social groups publish and subscribe to other groups, a system where humans can hold other humans accountable. Real people control content flow, not algorithms. The key element is the TruLine, a digitally signed chain-of-custody that shows where content originates, who posts it, and who republishes it. This makes it possible to separate credible sources from disreputable actors and confused individuals promoting misinformation, propaganda and lies. 

“Tru is built from the ground up to help people ‘think together’ in new ways and we feel it will help us do just that,” Fournier adds. 

Five core values distinguish Tru from other platforms:  Identity, privacy, reputation, provenance, and validation. In addition to providing a reliable and honest forum for publishing and communication, Tru protects people’s data. Tru is the place where people can go to network and communicate online without sacrificing their privacy. Tru offers a beautiful, safe, and civil alternative where your information is not being sold to advertising companies and a platform where you are in control of your feed and personal data.  From the design of the technology to the system that supports individuals in holding each other accountable, Tru is leading the way to bring truth and trust back to the internet. Although the platform is currently in private beta testing (you can request to join here), it aims to bring on people who operate in science, journalism, and human rights, and climate activism to create a new way to connect and “think together” online.  

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