Mastodawn

Spritual Spero 14h ago

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂

How to create an account on #WSocial in 13 easy steps:

1️⃣ choose a username
2️⃣ choose a password
3️⃣ choose your interests
4️⃣ download the #WIdentity app to your phone (two options: Apple AppStore or Google Play Store)
5️⃣ scan a QR code
6️⃣ create a PIN code
optional: enable biometrics; re-enter PIN
7️⃣ choose whether you simply want to verify that you're human or if you also want to verify your name
8️⃣ choose the verification method (automatic photo review, request a manual review or scan your passport chip)
9️⃣ scan your passport's picture page
1️⃣0️⃣ scan your passport's chip
1️⃣1️⃣ take a selfie
1️⃣2️⃣ scan a QR code to link the W Identity to your W Social account
1️⃣3️⃣ enter your PIN code

Congratulations, you're verified*!

(* for two years)

Demonstration in all its simple glory here:

📺: https://inv.nadeko.net/Vcq4MiabpEQ

Please save this toot as reference if you ever hear somebody say that IT'S TOO COMPLICATED TO JOIN THE FEDIVERSE BECAUSE YOU NEED TO PICK A SERVER 🤡

@elena thanks for this collection

@elena I'm sorry I disagree a bit.

You probably saw @aral 's toot where you were mentioned.

I would rather not use any social media than giving my passport to someone I don't know anything about.

Or ask them to send you their passport to see how that goes...

https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/116770333053823108

Aral Balkan (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Needless to say, do not sign up for W or give them your ID information no matter how simple they eventually manage to make it. You simply don’t need to. You’re already in a far superior – non-corporate, federated – space. Do not sign up for W. And warn your friends. The only time you have any power to stop this is now. If they succeed in gaining network effects, you will be as powerless to stop them as you are with X. And yes, they’re just another venture capital funded surveillance capitalist, people farmer, and burgeoning Nazi Bar. They just happen to be based in the EU. (As Nazi Bars traditionally have been.) #WSocial #NoWNoX #surveillance #capitalism #BigTech #VC @[email protected] https://mastodon.social/@_elena/116770291207686239

Aral’s fediverse server

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂19h ago

@hyde oooh I was being sarcastic. Maybe you missed my articles about W Social.

I don't want to waste your time, but I have a 3-part blog series that takes 40 minutes to read and exposes their shady ways: https://blog.elenarossini.com/tag/w-social/

W Social - Elena Rossini

A series of articles about the controversial social network W Social, a for profit company set up by Swedish entrepreneurs, who openly admitted they want to help train European AI models with their users' data (amongst other things).

Elena Rossini

@elena Oh indeed I missed that part 🤦‍♂️

Sorry for the noise ! I'll check them out 😅

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂19h ago

@hyde no worries!!! I've been criticizing them daily for months 🤭 @aral

Mona⁷ de trapo ⟭⟬ ⟬⟭12h ago

@elena @hyde @aral 😬 couldn’t believe you would be serious and that’s before i realized von der lying was promoting it
not with a 10k pole

Petra van Cronenburg 19h ago

@hyde I just get vibes of "imagine a scifi plot where you get all biometric data of Nazis". #sarcasmAlarm

Netzblockierer 17h ago

@NatureMC @hyde @elena also Zensursula is known for being such a notorious liar that CSA victims had to unite and tell her to STFU!

See @MOGiS …

#Zensursula #CSA #STFU #Lies

JP Mens 19h ago

@elena toot saved as screenshot, ready to show people. :)

Only "benefit" I see: That space will be free of these nasty people who insist on privacy ...

wraptile 14h ago

@wvs or bots and propagandists? Real ID networks absolutely have a real use the issue is when it's the only option.

@elena I'm creating two accounts, one for each of my middle fingers.

^. .^ Paul Wilde

@elena "Please save this toot as reference if you ever hear somebody say that IT'S TOO COMPLICATED TO JOIN THE FEDIVERSE BECAUSE YOU NEED TO PICK A SERVER 🤡"

Petra van Cronenburg 19h ago

@elena At least 4 + 8-12 are a no go for me.

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂19h ago

@NatureMC 1 through 13 are a NO GO for me 😂

Petra van Cronenburg 19h ago

@elena 🤣 Well, I woudn't use this platform either.
But I would also leave the Fediverse if they would install personality checks destroying privacy.

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂19h ago

@NatureMC I think people who self-host may be safe, but this is definitely an existential threat... the possibility of mandatory age verification for all social media platforms across Europe.

And guess who's lobbying for age verification and has everything to gain from it?

Evil f***ing Meta

https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/a-reddit-user-traced-2-billion-in-nonprofit-grants-and-lobbying-records-across-45-states-to-figure-out-whos-behind-the-age-verification-bills-the-answer-involves-a-company-that-profits-from-your-data-writing-laws-that-collect-more-of-it/36941

A Reddit user traced $2 billion in nonprofit grants and lobbying records across 45 states to figure out who's behind the age verification bills. The answer involves a company that profits from your data writing laws that collect more of it

TLDR; it’s because of Meta. The whole situation has planned years ago, and I just found myself so badly after reading this research. With websites, operating systems, app store/ google play, they’re all behind of this (because they’re writing legislation and force Apple/ Google to follow suits), so that they don’t face any illegal consequences. I’m not really good at English (it’s not my native lang). But you can find yourself more on Reddit. I wanna know what do you think about it.

Privacy Guides Community

Petra van Cronenburg 19h ago

@elena you certainly know this by @adfichter https://infosec.exchange/@adfichter/116770888587834354

Adfichter (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image The big tech company META has an ad running on the swiss newspaper "le temps" since several days... promoting centralised age verification. they push for age verification through google and apple on the app store level. they outsource and sell it as privacy-preserving solution... this is no joke. in the promoted link they write: "Over the past year, more than half of U.S. states have introduced app-store age legislation of this kind, with Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, and California already enacting versions of it — driven largely by parents. Momentum is also building in Washington, where the App Store Accountability Act is advancing through Congress." no not driven by parents...driven by the lobbying of META!! here is the promoted blogpost of Meta: https://about.fb.com/news/2026/06/how-to-verify-age-online/?utm_campaign my take on this you can read here: https://www.republik.ch/2026/04/10/ctrl-warum-das-social-media-verbot-fuer-teenager-zum-albtraum-wird

Infosec Exchange

cwicseolfor 18h ago

@NatureMC @elena @adfichter With great emphasis on the gulf of difference between people and their government, I cannot fathom using Texas (my state), Louisiana, Utah, or Alabama’s governance in trying to sell an idea to an EU audience, or California’s (the heart of the surveillance tech empire) to an educated one.

“All these places you regard as ignorant, regressive backwaters are doing it!” Even more than the lie about the astroturfed grassroots, I’m stunned by that rhetorical move.

Herman 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇾🇪🍋15h ago

@NatureMC @elena Then we have to migrate to non Europe based Mastodon servers.

Petra van Cronenburg 14h ago

@Herman If you live in the EU, you live with EU laws.
@elena

Herman 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇾🇪🍋12h ago

@NatureMC @elena It is not against any law to freely choose any Mastodon you like.

Petra van Cronenburg 12h ago

@Herman This is not what I said. @elena

Herman 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇾🇪🍋12h ago

@NatureMC @elena My apologies. Can you please clarify?

ClickyMcTicker 12h ago

@elena @NatureMC What’s wrong with # 1 and 2?

Samuel Brinkmann 19h ago

@elena just looking at this user experience, the fediverse can only loose </sarcasm> and reminds me of

Mathias Micheel 19h ago

@elena worth it to tell Ursula von der Leyen how I feel about her

Petra van Cronenburg 19h ago

@buerviper you can contact her directly without any social media platform 🤫

Mathias Micheel 19h ago

@NatureMC @elena but that doesn't require 13 useless steps!

7osNanos 19h ago

@elena 🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

@elena when it all leaks it will be absolutely delightful.

Jonathan 18h ago

I'm going to be there for that. Watching from the outside, I mean, not with an account 😄

Mark Gjøl 19h ago

@elena What happens in two years? Might I become not me?

@Gjoel @elena Your identity might be stolen, in which case you'll need to apply for another one, then go through these steps again with your new identity

hiphopheaven 17h ago

@jelte @Gjoel @elena also the concern of surveillance to surpress speech regarding europe terrible foreign policies in the middle east

Mark Gjøl 16h ago

@jelte @elena If my identity is stolen... I still have this profile. Unless it is stolen in order to create the profile... In which case a fake me gets to operate the profile for two years. If I need to get a _new_ identity, then surely I would want to move my existing one to the new one? I don't get it...

@Gjoel @elena Exactly! You'd no longer be Mark Gjøl, as that identity was stolen. You'd be Frank Løjg, and I assume Frank will want to keep your post history. Clearly EU expects everyone's identity to be stolen at least once every two years, which is a low estimate if there is ID verification everywhere.

Mark Gjøl 35m ago

@jelte @elena But I still don't get what a bi-annual reverification achieves? If I need to change my name - sure, it fails. But that's hardly timely nor in my best interest. And I am still the person who went by that name, so for all intents and purposes, it should still be verified.

@Gjoel @elena It was a joke conflating the meaning of identity theft and physical theft. I have no idea why they want this.

Eleder Únelegeb 19h ago

@elena And then they'll say "Mastodon is so complicated" 🥲

Net Gremlin 🚴🏻 🐧 🇩🇪 🇪🇺19h ago

@elena It is easier to set up and maintain an own #Mastodon server.

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂19h ago

@net_gremlin true that! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Humming 19h ago

@elena oh oh I know! This one is easy to crack! 13 enter your PIN code: 12StepDRE

Mim1956🟥🍀🌹 🍉🍋19h ago

@elena we don’t need it, we have #mastodon

thedoctor 19h ago

@elena How on earth was this whole thing conceptualized?!

Some European person: Guys, Twitter, or whatever it's called these days, kinda sucks now, couldn't we make our own thing over here, but without the US involved in the technology?
Everyone: nod agreement
Some random dude: I've got the solution!
Everyone: Do tell!
Random dude: What if, bear with me here, we do the same thing this BlueSky thing does, but worse? Like, reinventing the wheel but actually making it square!
Everyone: Brilliant!
One lonely voice: Um guys? We have a ready-made solution already, it's called the Fediverse and it...
Everyone: proceed to ignore everything else and set about building square wheels

JFC that's a shit show. How the hell can someone:

Choose and sign up to an email provider.
Sign up for a W social account per that 13 step list.

Yet still say signing up for a Mastodon account is too hard.

Incredible.

Also, well done on all the work investigating W Social, it's much appreciated!

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂19h ago

@sar thank you! I hope it's clear I was being sarcastic and I wasn't endorsing signing up. I would NEVER 😅

@elena It came across ok, but those of us following your work will have known that anyway 😂

Kurio🌷🐝19h ago

@elena fuckkk I haven't read a lot about this topic and thought this post was satire... but then I watched the video and confirmed The Horrors are real.

blobthinkingeyes

Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂19h ago

@kurio I was being sarcastic. but yeah, it's HORRIBLE

Ortwin Pinke 19h ago

Oh, much easier than joining the #fediverse 🙈

@elena People who say it’s too complicated to join the fediverse shouldn’t even use a computer, let alone the Web.

@hyblon I can do perfectly well on a computer and 'the web'. People who say it is too complicated to join the fediverse are not per se stupid you know. They just might have a problem with the specific language used. We're not all IT nerds.

@Catha If one can read can join an instance. I found harder to join tiktok.

@hyblon I can't compare. I only have Mastodon and never will have anything else.
And it has nothing to do with can or can not read. If you don't understand what's meant then it is hard.
Come and read some of the specific words of the branche I worked in. You wouldn't understand, even if you can read.

@Catha we're losing the topic here. We're talking about people saying that it is hard to choose a server and then do all the acrobatic jumps to join something like wsocial. It's fun.

canleaf08✅ 加拿大葉子 🏳️‍🌈⚧️🇪🇺🍁18h ago

@elena nazis and bots have scot free entry to W.

Yves Jeanrenaud 18h ago

@elena , I'd say, wsocial, fix your XSS vulnerability first, please.

stonedonkey 🕹️🎮👾18h ago

@elena
Creepy AF...

Mitsunee | 光音 18h ago

@elena picking a server is hard, so I just have 3 accounts