Cool59May 11
Elena Rossini 🌈

Do you remember the surprise announcement of a new social network in Davos this past January? Something that promised to be the "first" European social network?

Its name is #WSocial and it's a fork of #Bluesky. Its founders have ties with European politicians - but there is no official involvement by the EU.

You wouldn't know any of this from media reports because they all rehashed their talking points. So I wrote a post about it, dispelling some myths:

https://blog.elenarossini.com/w-social-uncovered-the-reality-behind-the-hype/

#OpenWashing

W Social uncovered: the reality behind the hype

An article dispelling myths about W Social, the new European platform that aims to rival X: it is a fork of Bluesky that shares many similarities with Eurosky and requires government ID to sign up.

Elena Rossini
May 8 at 5:41amWeb
Show threadElena Rossini 🌈May 8

Regarding my W Social exposé: it was months in the making and I could have written a LOT more, showing additional examples of technical blunders, but I kept it "brief" at 3500 words 😅

I ran out of characters to tag all the awesome people I mentioned in the piece: @doktorzjivago (thanks for the top notch meme), @tom @mapache and @Em0nM4stodon

And special thanks to people who volunteered to proof-read a draft and gave me fantastic feedback: @bitzero and @DataKnightmare

It takes a village ❤️

Show threadElena Rossini 🌈May 8

I just refreshed the #WSocial website and it's showing a MAJOR redesign... with a label at the top stating "built on the open AT-protocol."

This is the first time ever they acknowledge this – I know, as I've been visiting their website for MONTHS and also never heard about this in any interviews. So the claims in my exposé stand (the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine would confirm this).

Of note: they changed their URL from wsocial.eu to wsocial.news

BTW thanks for all your feedback ❤️

Show threadOblomovMay 8

@_elena still no mention of Mastodon or the Fediverse, LOL. That .news TLD really brings back to memory that failed attempt to capture the Xodus and the short-lived post.news experiment (shut down in 2024)

https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/19/post-news-the-a16z-funded-twitter-alternative-is-shutting-down/

Taking bets on how long W will last!

Post News, the a16z-funded Twitter alternative, is shutting down | TechCrunch

Post was backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Scott Galloway, an NYU professor and tech commentator, but the platform never disclosed how much it raised.

TechCrunch
Show threadeeMay 8
@_elena that’s better. I still think the thing will fail. I also highly suspect it is vibe-coded, at the very least the website front-end is.
Show threadWilfried KlaebeMay 11

I hope that bullshit clone of bsky fails, with all the German Fedi instances already up.

@ee @_elena

Show threadChewieMay 8

@_elena

And sadly, https://w-social.eu doesn't exist any more ;(

Show threadMichel PatriceMay 8

@_elena

Félicitations, Elena Bly* Rossini.

(* Nellie Bly, trailblazing female figure in investigative journalism.)

Show threadMarioMay 8
Fork Bluesky or any other software and call it your own. And on top of that, they receive financial support from the government.
Show threadKaifi 🍉May 8
@_elena like genuinely, there's nothing more european of a social network than @Mastodon ! But they're trying so hard to fit and blend into America and anything related to it 😭
Show threadMaho 🦝🍻May 8
@_elena I mean that is good, if they reconsider some of their things is always good
Show threadAndy PiperMay 8

@_elena the "trusted feed" thing will be interesting. I'm trying out eYou Social - mobile-only for now, fully proprietary, but, it also promises an EU-based, trusted platform. The "trust" element comes via an AI verification that happens on *every* post; and it gets tripped up (?) on certain things... just imagine posting about the rights of certain groups in society - opinion, or fact? Hmm! It's a dangerous and tricky path, and those AIs are not always great at that. 😬

Let's see how W does.

Show threadikuturso 🇪🇺May 9

@andypiper where do they talk about this trusted feed? is it just a feed of users local to w and thus id verified or something else?

@_elena

Show threadAndy PiperMay 9
@ikuturso @_elena it's in the screenshot of the website Elena posted - trust your feed - the implication being that the feed is trustworthy, presumably through ID verification.
Show threadfab:logMay 9
@_elena Seems like your exposé triggered this change of mind. 😎
Powerful woman 👍
Show threadikuturso 🇪🇺May 9

@_elena it's pretty interesting they still really want to avoid saying "Bluesky" and only say "AT-proto".

Almost every other project goes as far as including "sky" in their name and repeatedly mentions Bluesky because that's the thing some people might know at this point so it's good marketing...

Except if you're trying to present yourself as the new European social platform that replaces the US ones such as Bluesky I guess.

Show threadMarjorieRMay 12
@ikuturso @_elena in exploring the relationship between #WSocial, #Bluesky and the AT protocol it's perhaps worth noting that Trumps Nazi Bar/megaphone Truth Social is actually based on a modified Mastodon platform.
I don't think they go to any length to acknowledge that either.
Show threadVictoriaMay 9

@_elena

They are less reluctant to say they are using atproto now because they even showed up to the atproto conference back in March

This other reply of mine has more info and valuable video footage of W Social's lightning talk at the conference

https://app.wafrn.net/fediverse/post/bfb50117-9ea3-4bc3-88fa-4c8a30f58265

Victoria ([email protected])

Some relevant updates. Between March 26 and 29, we had the AtmosphereConf in Vancouver. People from W Social and Eurosky were there, and they even did presentations. I feel like W Social relationship with Atproto devs is more amicable now, compared to their first impression, which wasn't that good.

app.wafrn.net
Show threadOlivia VesperaMay 10
@_elena they clearly read your blog
Show thread無May 12
@_elena Why everything must be terrible?
Show threadDaniel PrindiiMay 14
@_elena I don't know if you saw this short interview with the CEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTLAEbS-fkc
She mentioned that they work with Trust Anchor Group(Swedish company) for identity checks.
https://www.trustanchorgroup.com
Antwort sein auf Instagram, X, TikTok und Co. will ein neues Unternehmen, so die Mitgründerin | ntv

YouTube
Show threadbitzeroMay 8
@_elena @doktorzjivago @tom @mapache @Em0nM4stodon @DataKnightmare

In this case: it takes some federated villages. Thank to you for the awesome inquiry.
Show threadjoseMay 8
@_elena wow, very nice post, Elena! You really nailed it 😆. I think in 2026, it’s pretty hard to sweep things like what you found under the rug. In the EU digital community—like we have on Mastodon—we sniff out things, kind of like opening Pandora’s boxes, much faster 👌
Show threadPepijnMay 8

@_elena Thanks! Let's hope the message lands!

Journalism has been disappointing. One journalist picking up on it was working for Dutch NOS. On launch she asked "Bluesky fork?" and got shut down with a "we'll share tech details later". ⏰🔔

>Eurosky .. carefully planned out,

But also dishonest. Eurosky is an offshoot from a failed global grift now trying the Europe angle.

On launch I emailed back-and-forth with them multiple times to fix their privacy policy. Even now they make false claims.

Show threadEm May 8

@_elena
This is truly an excellent piece! Thank you for conducting this important research, and for bringing this issue to the attention of the public. This is a very important topic!

And thank you so much for linking to my article 

Show threadMichael MathyMay 8
@_elena are you sure it is / was a hype ? To be honest, beside you, I never heard about W Social, at least from the people I follow, the news sites in my RSS reader, ...
Show threadLuca SironiMay 8

@_elena

I have a very partial view on #atmosphere based on bridged accounts.
Of all the people I know reporting to being interested in this w thing, no one did effectively mentioned or tried #eurosky , that is already available and people can migrate to at no social cost.

Show thread-karlos-May 8

@_elena
„Issue no.1: How W Social ignored existing European initiatives“

I would say: They ignored all non-commercial media. And mastodon = european? Mostly. But it doesn’t mather. „Es gibt keine Nationalstaaten mehr“ is a trent un SF shows :)
#wsocial #raumpatrouille

Show threadJan Dytrych🇨🇿🇺🇦May 8
@_elena great article! What I expect is that many ppl will just go for it! "It's European and screw it that they need my ID." The only issue is that I can theoretically create Bluesky account and still communicate with W social accounts. So what's the point of checking ppl if you can still enter through window if door requires an ID. Also I think Mastodon/Fediverse needs some lobby in EC and European parliament, that's something we can learn from W Chat case.
Show threadLee 🌏May 8
@_elena Thanks for the deep dive.
It does leave me asking: what can we learn from this to help us promote the Fediverse?
Perhaps a spoof website called "Euro Social" that just links to Fediverse 😉 🙂
Show threadKen M SweeneyMay 8
@_elena the worst thing about WSocial is that it's criminaly boring.
Show threadLuca FabbriMay 8
@_elena great spelunking!
Show threadChefExperteMay 8
@_elena I didn't know W Social was such a dishonest project, good to know. I won't be using it if it requires my id anyways, but I'll also warn my friends.
Show threadPhoenix Paulina SchmidMay 8
This is a very good exposé, @_elena. And W Social like this looks like an (un-)intentional attempt to weaken the upcoming European digital sovereignty.
Show threadtangyMay 8
@_elena Never heard of W Social, but thank you for your critical analysis! What do you think about Eurosky?
Show threadMichel PatriceMay 8

@_elena

Après cinéaste et photographe, tu pourrais maintenant ajouter journaliste d'enquête.

Merci pour cet article très fouillé et très recherché.

Show threadFeyterMay 8

@_elena At least for me it's clear... W social is a financial project to grap some founding money. It's not a project with European sovereignty in mind or with sovereignty for Europeans.

Therefore, it should be avoided.

Show threadJohan GroenenMay 8
@_elena cc @FediVariety
Show thread@[email protected]May 8
@_elena thank you, for doing the work journalism / media should have been doing!
Show threadAlpaca MaleMay 8
@_elena Monet being like: Am I a joke to you?
Show threadSimon ZerafaMay 8

@_elena

I've also seen references to a BlackSky SM platform which seems to be another Bluesky clone? 🙂🤷‍♂️

Show threadFelix HlatkyMay 8
@simonzerafa I think calling Blacksky a clone is too limiting as they do a ton of good and original work from what I can tell. @_elena
Show threadVictoriaMay 9

@simonzerafa @_elena

You can kinda think of Blacksky's app as a truly different instance of Bluesky, if that helps understand it in fediverse terms (though it's not a perfect translation since both protocols have very different approaches to infrastructure).

Blacksky started as a community and safe space for black people inside Blueksy, they started as a feed and moderation service. But today they are much bigger than that. They have their own app totally independent from Blueksy but it is compatible with communicating with people using Blueksy.

Their app started as a fork from Bluesky's but they are expanding and exploring different features for some time already (like having a way that a post is only visible on Blacksky and Blacksky users, pronouns displayed for everyone, and are now developing integration with long-format blog posts that already exist on atproto).

They also launched Acorn, which is a super toolkit for communities to have a similar structure as they have (app branding, moderation, statistics…) with less friction of building from zero.

Show threadLou ReynoldsMay 8
@_elena thanks for unmasking the effort. looking forward to the complete unmasking of who is behind it.
Show threadToni AittoniemiMay 8

@_elena Same shit as US big tech, wearing an EU mask…

Which is what I think a lot of this sovereignty hype will boil down to:

A lot of US companies will establish subsidies, that will ”Eurowash” their products. In the background the data access for them stays, and nothing changes. We use the same products under a different name and somebody gets a cut.

Neoliberal corporatism is an ideology, and this is the result. So very few people can even see it.

Show threadikuturso 🇪🇺May 8

@gimulnautti that is a valid concern but saying that's how it *will* end up i's a very cynical outlook for an effort that could still produce something positive... people need to get involved and fight against the forces that try to make it fail like that even if it is difficult when faced with lobbyists like these.

@_elena

Show threadToni AittoniemiMay 8

@ikuturso @_elena Yes, I hope it will not. The risk is real however, and this is essentially the status quo.

We should recognize how bad things really are. I feel the most danger is that people want to feel hopeful and they close their eyes on how the train tracks are laid down.

Show threadwitchescauldronMay 8
@_elena more mess to compost, it's a signal-to-noise issue that makes these people evil... left to themselves they are pointless so not much of a problem.
Show threadGinaMay 8
@_elena 🔥🔥🔥
Show threadJoe BrockmeierMay 8
@_elena Doing the Lord's Work (TM) -- awesome.
Show threadMick 🇨🇦May 8
@_elena we have one of these too! https://gandersocial.ca
Gander: The Social Media You Want, Built in Canada

Fun, private, and ethical. We're changing the way social media is done around here, all without your personal data taking an unexpected trip down south.

Gander Social
Show threadZiClaud has movedMay 8
@_elena also, BeReal is French
Show threadjajMay 8
@_elena Why do they do stupid things like that when they could just spin up a Mastodon instance
Show threadDr. Juande Santander-VelaMay 8
@jaj @_elena you’ll enjoy this, then… https://eupolicy.social/@hpod16/116538344713848285
Hannah Grace (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Excited to announce that the @[email protected] has updated it's follow buttons on the website footer! What's that first platform there? Could that be #Mastodon? And where did the link to #X go? All the posts and comments here on Mastodon calling for this, trust me we read them! #SocialMedia #EU #EuropeanCommission #FollowUs

EUpolicy.social - A Mastodon server for the EU bubble
Show threadjajMay 8
@juandesant @_elena I do follow this account but I thought the idea behind W was not to create an account but to launch a new network
Show threadwraptileMay 8
@_elena isn't that like, the point of decentralization and open source? The only real criticism of blue sky is that it's owned by American VCs
Show threadikuturso 🇪🇺May 8

@wraptile would have to disagree that it's the only one but it is a pretty significant one and also has implications for how independent anything based on their platform and protocol can really be.

Dries Buytaert (Drupal) wrote about some of the limitations when it comes to software sovereignty, Bluesky would get a "C" under his framework and that's before we even consider the network effects inherent to a social platform:
https://dri.es/the-software-sovereignty-scale

@_elena

The Software Sovereignty Scale

Digital sovereignty depends less on where software comes from and more on who controls it. This post introduces a scale showing which technologies can never be taken away.

Show threadReiner KnudsenMay 8
@_elena There was TV news in Germany recently talking about alternatives and WSocial was one of them. The representative talked about how they made the network‘s algorithm more user-friendly and I thought „Who tf needs a freaking algorithm other than people-I-follow-latest-first or simply-everything???“
An algorithm is their way of guiding news and communication. Who still wants that?????
Show threadMarkChristopherson🇬🇧🇵🇹🇪🇺May 8

@_elena

Thank you, this kind of work is so important and sadly underappreciated.

The difficulty for a lot of people (like me!) is not really understanding the tech we're using. So we end up trusting whatever we're told.

Hopefully, articles like this will gradually educate people so they understand how to make their choices align with their principles.

Show threadGabriel MarkleyMay 8
@_elena Very well written. Thank you! It is surprising in today's age that news does not include this type of investigative research or thought but instead stops at the 5 sec sound bit that serves a few attention seeking moments vs improving the larger social fabric of life.
Show threadCathaMay 8
@_elena I've read about it once, when the EU made the announcement of intending to make such place, but never heard of it again. Maybe because it didn'5 interest me (or because I was sceptical, like the "yeah duh .. a Google-is-still-hiding-in-the-background'-social"-feeling).
Although living in 2 EU-countries makes the change of reading more about it bigger you'd think, but ... No. Sorry.
But thanks for your interesting 'backgroundcheck', at least I know I don't have to feel like I have missed anything, staying at masto is still the best choice. 😁