Ben Swann To Launch Blockchain-Based Independent Media Network - ISEGORIA
The announcement comes as the latest wave of censorship swept across social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Hundreds of accounts have been purged from Facebook including The Free Thought Project, The Anti-Media, multiple 'Alt-Right' pages which include anti-police brutality and anti-war pages as well.
Many of these alternative outlets already have a presence on Steemit as well: @tftproject, @antimedia and Ben Swann's own @truthinmedia.
The message is loud and clear, tech giant platforms are no longer a place free speech and freedom of expression. They are a domain of approved messages and a place where only authorized ideas and discussion are permitted.
Reporters for independent media are increasingly turning to the blockchain alternatives in the wake of the ongoing censorship. Recently, Overstock founder Patrick Byrnes and Medici Ventures invested $6 million into Minds.com.
Cryptostream.online
This is not a war of ideas.
We are right now engaged in a war against ideas and it's time to fight back.
-Ben Swann
Follow Ben Swann on Steem/Steemit here:
@benswann
@truthinmedia
ISEGORIA
Isegoria [i-sē-gor-í-a] noun;from the ancient Greek meaning
“Equality of all in freedom of speech”
According to the official ISEGORIA website ISEGORIA will reward its users with it's own cryptocurrency/token reward system.
Isegoria will have a cryptocurrency rewards system built into the platform that will reward journalists and entertainers who create high-quality and engaging content, as well as the users who engage in the content. This will be the first truly “responsive” media company as our users will have “voting rights” to pick what content is covered and investigated.
Along with it's own cryptocurrency token, the platform will incorporate an Upvoting system, much like Steem/Steemit already employs, to help give visibility to top quality content.
https://isegoria.com/
Core Concepts
Describing the core tenets of the platform, the website identifies two major components -
1) A 24hr Streaming Platform
2) A Treasury That Funds Independent Creators
With the ISE whitepaper scheduled for release in December 2018 the details of how this blockchain-based system will function have yet to be fully disclosed. Neverthless, the website does outline some key principles. Firstly, the platform will be divided into three major verticals.
1) ISE Live
2) ISE Quality
3) ISE Indie
ISE Live
- Programmed 24/7 streaming channel
- News, docudrama, video podcast and entertainment programming.
- Lineup varies day to day and season to season as in a traditional cable or streaming lineup.
- Content for live TV curated from channels. This vertical will look like a streaming cable or “over the top channel” such as VICE.
ISE Quality
- Platform for independent channels.
- Channels will be populated with content currently being purged from other platforms.
- Channels will be responsible for producing their own content.
- Isegoria may pay content creators to make content exclusive to their platform.
- Voting rights for consumers move content from channels to the live lineup.
ISE Indie
- Independent journalists and content creators who are not large enough to have enough ongoing content to populate a channel will have access to a treasury system.
- One-off projects can be pitched and voted on by the community. These projects can and will, at times, move to the live TV schedule.
- They will collectively be placed on their own Indie channel under “ISE-Quality.”
- This will combat the issue of independent media being unable to find a funding mechanism and will help to combat entities like Media Matters for America as they attempt to cut off advertisers to indie journalists.
Source: ISEGORIA.com
A particularly noteworthy and exciting aspect of the project is the ability for content creators to submit proposals for their own independent media projects in order to receive funding from ISEGORIA's treasury.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)
There will be a small fee, priced in our Isegoria tokens, that will be required to submit a proposal. Once the project has been submitted, the Isegoria token holders will be given the chance to vote on the project. If the project is funded, the requested amount of Isegoria tokens will be released to the proposal owner to create the content. Once the content has been created, it will have the chance to be featured on Isegoria’s 24-hour streaming platform: ISE LIVE.
Thus, independent journalists who struggle to fund their own initiatives will have the ability to receive support directly from the platform.
Token Distribution - DASH? / SMT? / ERC20? / EOS?
As mentioned above, the ISEGORIA team has yet to complete their whitepaper (December 31st, 2018) that should provide more in-depth understanding of the blockchain protocol some of already begun to speculate on whether the project might look to leverage existing blockchains.
Those who are familiar with @benswann know that his latest investigative segment Reality Check has been sponsored by DASH cryptocurrency while also distributing the content on the STEEM blockchain at the same time. This suggests that there are several possibilities in the cards for ISEGORIA including a STEEM-based SMT which are scheduled for release in early 2019.
Some in the ISEGORIA Telegram channel have also been speculating on possible paths forward for the project as it progresses.
ISEGORIA Telegram Channel -
https://t.me/joinchat/EWkjfg6iPa1J3zWuwBXzog
ISEGORIA On Censorship
Discussing recent attempts to shutdown GAB, an alternative to Twitter, co-founder Mike Baysek made the follow statement to cryptoglobe while also expressing his condolences to the families of those affected in the latest mass shooting in Pittsburgh.
I’m relieved that authorities have the suspect in custody. However, Internet Service Provider, Joyent’s action to suspend services to Gab as a result of criminal outcomes that have not been adjudicated is something that should be of great concern to everyone. The suspect merely had an account/on this service. He did not own the service. It’s all but certain that he had accounts on other services like Facebook, Gmail, Twitter and the like. What is happening here is that, in the wake of social media censorship backlash, the mainstream media are trying to manufacture the public’s consent to shut down alternatives to the centrally controlled, managed and surveilled social networks.This is why blockchain is so important. We can’t censor away the evils of humanity. We need to record them accurately and forever, so we can never forget this barbaric time in our history. Those who are ignorant to history are condemned to repeating it.
YouTube Introduction
Check out the YouTube intro uploaded on October 31t, 2018
Life Line
The @v4vapid account has long been a supported of independent media and investigative journalism on the Steem blockchain and try to support voices that are increasingly finding themselves pushed to the margins and heavily censored.
Many of those that have been censored have a presence on the STEEM blockchain but are struggling to find support. Please consider following some of these important independent voices.
@antimedia
@tftproject
@activistpost
@pressfortruth
@lukewearechange
@corbettreport
@truthinmedia
@benswann
@tlavagabond
@johnvibes
@an0nkn0wledge
@titusfrost
@suzi3d
@elizbethleavos
@caitlinjohnstone
@dbroze
@highimpactflix
@joshsigurdson
@theouterlight
@fortified
@leecamp
@clarityofsignal
@deepdives
@informationwar
@newsagg
@styxhexenhammer
Related Article: Shifting Tides
Personally, I'm very encouraged by the announcement of this initiative and hope it allows for a stable safe haven for self-sustaining and non-corporate media.
The inclusion of a mechanism to fund independent media creators is also a much needed and vital tool moving forward.
Learn more about the project by visiting their website or by following @benswann / @truthinmedia.
This is exactly why I make articles saying bring on the censorship, as for every action there is equal and opposite, and in this case un-erasable independent news that will go down on a blockchain.
May they try to silence us more, bring it on, we only get stronger by the day. What a legend Ben is, leading the way, it is a good day to be alive!
Well said. They can't stop the free market. We will always be one step ahead, early adopters and innovators.
:-)
Thank you for bringing this to our attention @v4vapid .. I love it! The harder they push and the more their technological ministry of truth attempts to define borders of our free speech .. the more people begin to innovate and create. We should be thanking the corporatocracy because by pushing people into their idealistic, intellectually masochistic cul de sac for the mind, they have seemingly failed to grasp the validity of Newtonian physics and thus awakened a sleeping giant.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and through their actions, they are destined to become the fuel in the engine of their own demise. Will this happen tomorrow? No. Will it happen in five years? Unlikely. But the seeds have been planted (the genie is out of the bottle) and once we make it through our collective winter of discontent .. these seeds will grow into the mightiest of oaks .. what a time to be alive eh dude? :) Great work as always my friend!!
You mirror my thoughts, and that is why I like you, keep right on my friend, keep right on.
Ha yes my friend, we were only discussing equal and opposite reactions a few days ago (but in a negative sense) so it's good to see it from the opposing spectrum. Have a great weekend! :)
I remember when Alt media was so underground that you did it as a work of passion, don't quit your day job. I played music and it was the same concept, don't quit your day job. I think it's fantastic that altmedia, and Decentralized media is mainstream, even better some have found ways to make a living promoting the truth, we were around before the Tech Giants censored and deplatformed, we will be here long after, the ones with the most passion for truth will always be here, I appreciate the amount of Steemit sites listed, I am way behind on following and building up my list. To summarize, I am positive about the future, the truth innovator's like Ben are going to navigate and build new Decentralized outlets, Censorship is credibility to truth, Truth is a work of passion.
Well said @natepower!
I still work my day job ;)
Thanks so much for the Tipu bump, but really you should keep your SBD, I'm doing alright as is. I'll be returning the favor whether you like it or not, lol.
Decentralization is the future, it'll soon be within our grasp we just need to reach out and take it - push it over the top.
Thanks for the post. I am glad that people like Swann are on this platform, and that they are creating additional platform initiatives of their own. The purge that's been going on is certainly a difficult thing to deal with however it's got a silver lining that I think a lot of us recognize; it's allowing and/or forcing us to explore other platforms and ways of expressing ourselves and our thoughts and beliefs without the censorship that was imposed upon so many in the large, state-run platforms (there is no question now for anyone to see that it's clearly state-run, not privately owned). I'm glad I started following your page early on in my Steemit journey, I've found lots of other great pages and people through your reference, thanks!
My pleasure!
I think the more alternatives we have the better. Whether it's having options like STEEM, DTube, Vimm, Bitchute, BitTube, Minds, Trybe, Gab!, etc
These centralized monopolies not only sucking up our personal data but they are also attempting to regulate what you see and hear. It's time people walk away from these platforms for good.
This is so great, Ben Swann is one of my favorite journalists! I'm certainly going to look more into his token, but this will be huge for him. Good stuff!
@v4vapid, Great to know about the isegoria. And in my opinion this is what we need and that means, for sure we need Decentralised news platform where there is no censorship and for sure where we can see true meaning of Freedom Of Speech. And in my opinion, Blockchian Technology is brining Revolution and with that Crypto Sphere is giving masses an opportunity to enter into an Economy where they can see both Financial Control and Financial Freedom aspects. Thank you so much for letting us know about this Upcoming News Platform.
Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂
I really hope they go with SMT! :)
That would be YUGE!
Are SMTs ready? Do you know where we can find an update?
Hey James, the best way to find the latest updates would be to follow the @steemitblog -
This post is a few months old but provides the general timeline for SMT release - https://steemit.com/steem/@steemitblog/smts-release-dates
I keep hearing early 2019 now, maybe Feb / March!.. but with so many pushbacks i wouldnt be surprised if it were even later!
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This is awesome news! While some voices do have dangerous rhetoric...we can't just let some central authority silence anyone it deems unworthy of a voice. I wish them luck in their proposal.
Perhaps something like this is inevitable...but I wonder if this will be the platform that takes off.
I do worry about if they do choose an existing coin. From their proposal, it sounds like it might be more than would be possible with current blockchains. They could likely take some code from projects like Steem, but if they didn't make a significantly different fork, they might be in for some hard times. Then again, if they did manage to work with an existing coin to adapt it to their needs, it might significantly advance that coin as their own developers contribute to a fork of it.
Considering they haven't decided yet, they might actually have some issues with getting developers that are significantly familiar enough with the blockchain...or they're just still in their infancy. In either case, since they haven't decided on a chain yet, it will likely be months if not years before we see anything from them. That might mean that other projects may be able to get ahead of them, and have their own live channels. It's likely possible here already...just maybe not fully to their choices without some modifications. Although...perhaps not as hard as some might think...
You're absolutely right, they may develop their own token and that would be just as interesting. It's still young I think they're aiming to launch something by 3rd Q 2019 so there could be a lot of developments between now and then. There are other tokens in the mix as well Ravencoin and Tron I just noticed have been tossed around as possibilities.
I think if they do opt for an established token, it might help them speed up the launch some.
Pretty exciting though :)
With their requirements, it likely has to be a fork at least. It's not like any coin is perfect for what they want. I think Steem is actually pretty close... So they will get some exposure from whatever community they fork from for being forked from that coin, but it may be limited. There are Steem forks that practically no one on here knows about except the most diehard.
But an entire year, if they get a kickass developer team, will be plenty of time to make something more than workable. If they use something close enough, maybe the majority of their time will be spent on the site.
I think what they choose will greatly influence what happens though. Anything could probably be adapted given enough time, but blockchain devs are at a premium right now. If they made a huge mistake and picked the wrong blockchain to start with and got too far in the development to easily switch, it might be a total flop.
I'm kinda rooting for them to pick Steem, because we need more diversified devs working on the coin and not just Steemit.
Media cultivated 'the reality' that the powerful wants us to see. This creates the reality that has nothing to do with the actual happening and mostly is exactly the opposite of what really happened. That's why there is censorship.
Though social media are platforms that are less censored but still you can have your free say on those platforms too. Unlike all these censored platforms, Steem is blockchain based and thus censorship free. It's nice to see more projects and initiatives to embrace blockchain technology. Good work @v4vapid.
This guy gets it!
For sure msm controls the public discourse with 'approved' news and omit 'unapproved' news'by not reporting on it and acting like certain issues and ideas are unimportant to the public, when nothing could be further from the truth.