Yik Yak, a controversial social media app focused on anonymous, local posts, announced its comeback on Aug.16. But the app, which faded into obscurity four years ago amid connections to everything from bomb threats to sexual harassment, is returning at a time when social media is in a different place -- a much more toxic one.
The app, developed by Furman University students Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington, saw a spurt of growth in 2014, when it was valued at $400 million. Its popularity was due in part to Yik Yak's novel approach that let users create, view and comment on discussion threads anonymously with other users within a 5-mile radius. Like Reddit, users could upvote or downvote content.
But as we've seen with other social media sites, Yik Yak quickly went to a dark place. The New York Times recounted Yik Yak's short first life, filled with body shaming, racist content, sexual harassment and threats of gun violence and murder. Several schools banned the app, according to USA Today, which caused Yik Yak's popularity to plummet, and eventually led to its shuttering, in 2017.
No social media platform is without its seedy corners, many of which have gotten seedier with people spending more time online during the pandemic. Facebook and Instagram removed more than 1 million pieces of content in the last three months of 2020 containing disinformation about COVID-19. False conspiracy theories that spread on these platforms fueled the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 as...
Read Full Story: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/yik-yak-a-toxic-social-network-that-shut-down-four-years-ago-is-somehow-back/
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.