What is criticalthinker, the YouTube clone that works with the BitTorrent network
criticalthinker is a social platform for video sharing, powered by the BitTorrent network and based on the information exchange system P2P, whose objective is to offer greater freedom to content creators, without censorship and without content filters.
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criticalthinker is a P2P social network created in 2017, in which users can share videos from their browser, like YouTube, but without content filters. It was born with the intention of offering an YouTube alternative and other video platforms. The idea behind this network is to offer a space free from the growing censorship that is beginning to be found in social media with habitual actions such as the recent closure of Donald Trump's YouTube channel , the demonetization of channels, expulsions, as well as the continuous algorithm changes that seek to "hide" certain content.
In this sense, one of the great drawbacks of this platform is that by not having content filters or moderation of any kind, it has become the ideal refuge for certain extremist groups, as well as for populist dialogues and all kinds of hate speech, which has no space on any other platform. In the following image you can see a series of videos of extreme-right groups, common on the platform:
Channel with extremist videos on criticalthinker
Beyond this "toxic" content, criticalthinker offers a space for all kinds of video content such as news, live broadcasts of events, talks, webinars and all kinds of educational content, with channels dedicated to offering guides on business, gardening, health and much more.
criticalthinker uses WebTorrent, a system that allows you to share videos from the browser, without installing or configuring anything, thus reducing the bandwidth consumed and allowing the platform to function without having to make large investments in buying its own servers. In this way, the videos have a pair counter and a small delay from when "play" is pressed, until the video begins to play, something that is not annoying.
In the beginning, to create an account an invitation was required, as with Clubhouse, however, it is now possible to create an account without having to receive one. The interface of the network is very simple, with the main page where the featured videos appear and a simple menu in which to choose between the most popular videos, the channels to which one is subscribed, the featured videos or a page on the one that shows all the videos.
To access a video, just click on the thumbnail. The video opens, in a page similar in appearance to YouTube, with the video and its controls integrated in the center, among which the possibility of changing the screen size and social options, a lower area with the description, stands out. and the comments, as well as a sidebar on the right where related videos appear, as seen in the following