<s>
Voat	B-Application
Inc	I-Application
(	O
;	O
styled	O
VOΛT	O
)	O
was	O
an	O
American	O
alt-tech	O
news	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
and	O
social	O
networking	O
service	O
where	O
registered	O
community	O
members	O
could	O
submit	O
content	O
such	O
as	O
text	O
posts	O
and	O
direct	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
was	O
widely	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
Reddit	B-Application
clone	O
and	O
a	O
hub	O
for	O
the	O
alt-right	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voat	B-Application
was	O
a	O
site	O
which	O
hosted	O
aggregated	O
content	O
and	O
discussion	B-Application
forums	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Wired	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
was	O
"	O
aesthetically	O
and	O
functionally	O
similar	O
to	O
Reddit.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Reddit	B-Application
,	O
Voat	B-Application
was	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
entries	O
submitted	O
by	O
its	O
registered	O
users	O
to	O
themed	O
categories	O
(	O
called	O
"	O
subverses	O
"	O
on	O
Voat	B-Application
)	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
bulletin	B-Application
board	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Reddit	B-Application
,	O
Voat	B-Application
emphasized	O
looser	O
content	O
restrictions	O
and	O
an	O
ad-revenue	O
sharing	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voat	B-Application
was	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
C#	B-Application
programming	O
language	O
,	O
while	O
Reddit	B-Application
is	O
written	O
in	O
Python	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voat	B-Application
was	O
described	O
by	O
media	O
outlets	O
including	O
Quartz	O
,	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
,	O
New	O
York	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
US	O
and	O
UK	O
editions	O
of	O
Wired	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
hub	O
for	O
the	O
alt-right	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
was	O
also	O
widely	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
clone	O
of	O
Reddit	B-Application
,	O
or	O
sometimes	O
dubbed	O
"	O
the	O
alt-right	O
Reddit	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
January	O
2017	O
New	O
Yorker	O
article	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
was	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
descendant	O
of	O
2chan	O
,	O
4chan	O
,	O
and	O
8chan	O
,	O
where	O
users	O
compete	O
for	O
shock	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
described	O
by	O
The	O
Verge	O
as	O
a	O
model	O
for	O
other	O
"	O
censorship-free	O
"	O
alt-tech	O
services	O
,	O
including	O
Gab	O
,	O
Parler	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Hatreon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
"	O
Voat	B-Application
"	O
is	O
a	O
play	O
on	O
the	O
words	O
'	O
goat	O
 '	O
and	O
'	O
vote	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
used	O
the	O
Colombian	O
top	O
level	O
domain	O
,	O
.co	B-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
registered	O
in	O
November	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Founded	O
in	O
April	O
2014	O
as	O
WhoaVerse	B-Application
,	O
the	O
website	O
was	O
a	O
hobby	O
project	O
of	O
Atif	O
Colo	O
(	O
known	O
on	O
Voat	B-Application
as	O
@Atko	O
)	O
,	O
then	O
a	O
college	O
student	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
was	O
later	O
joined	O
by	O
Justin	O
Chastain	O
(	O
known	O
as	O
@PuttItOut	O
on	O
Voat	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
has	O
been	O
labelled	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
Reddit	B-Application
with	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
freedom	O
of	O
expression	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
WhoaVerse	B-Application
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
Voat	B-Application
for	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Voat	B-Application
was	O
based	O
in	O
Switzerland	B-Protocol
,	O
Voat	B-Application
became	O
incorporated	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
in	O
August	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colo	O
explained	O
in	O
a	O
post	O
announcing	O
the	O
incorporation	O
that	O
this	O
was	O
because	O
"	O
Switzerland	B-Protocol
seemed	O
like	O
a	O
great	O
option	O
in	O
the	O
beginning	O
,	O
but	O
when	O
it	O
comes	O
to	O
freedom	O
of	O
speech	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
idea	O
behind	O
Voat	B-Application
,	O
U.S.	O
law	O
by	O
far	O
beats	O
every	O
other	O
candidate	O
country	O
we	O
’ve	O
researched.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
a	O
large	O
influx	O
of	O
users	O
from	O
Reddit	B-Application
in	O
July	O
2015	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
's	O
operators	O
were	O
approached	O
by	O
investors	O
interested	O
in	O
funding	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
though	O
they	O
said	O
they	O
"	O
had	O
n't	O
had	O
the	O
time	O
to	O
talk	O
"	O
about	O
the	O
offers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2017	O
,	O
Colo	O
resigned	O
as	O
CEO	O
of	O
Voat	B-Application
,	O
citing	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
time	O
available	O
to	O
devote	O
to	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2017	O
,	O
Chastain	O
ran	O
a	O
fundraising	O
campaign	O
,	O
announcing	O
that	O
Voat	B-Application
might	O
have	O
to	O
shut	O
down	O
due	O
to	O
lack	O
of	O
money	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
after	O
forming	O
a	O
partnership	O
with	O
an	O
investor	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
stayed	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
22	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
again	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
shut	O
down	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
funding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
25	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
shut	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
Voat	B-Application
's	O
six	O
years	O
of	O
operation	O
,	O
accusations	O
of	O
censorship	O
against	O
Reddit	B-Application
and	O
its	O
moderation	O
decisions	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
banning	O
of	O
various	O
subreddits	O
,	O
caused	O
several	O
influxes	O
of	O
Reddit	B-Application
users	O
to	O
Voat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
June	O
2015	O
,	O
after	O
Reddit	B-Application
banned	O
five	O
subreddits	O
for	O
harassment	O
—	O
the	O
largest	O
of	O
which	O
,	O
r/fatpeoplehate	O
,	O
had	O
around	O
150,000	O
subscribers	O
—	O
many	O
users	O
of	O
Reddit	B-Application
began	O
to	O
create	O
accounts	O
on	O
Voat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
July	O
2015	O
,	O
following	O
the	O
dismissal	O
of	O
a	O
popular	O
administrator	O
on	O
Reddit	B-Application
,	O
another	O
influx	O
of	O
Reddit	B-Application
members	O
registered	O
with	O
Voat	B-Application
,	O
leading	O
to	O
traffic	O
levels	O
which	O
again	O
caused	O
Voat	B-Application
to	O
experience	O
downtime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2016	O
,	O
more	O
users	O
relocated	O
to	O
Voat	B-Application
after	O
Reddit	B-Application
banned	O
the	O
Pizzagate	O
conspiracy	O
theory	O
subreddit	O
,	O
r/pizzagate	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
doxing	B-Application
and	O
harassment	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2017	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
Reddit	B-Application
's	O
incel	O
community	O
moved	O
to	O
Voat	B-Application
after	O
an	O
incel	O
community	O
,	O
r/incels	O
,	O
was	O
banned	O
on	O
Reddit	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
12	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
Reddit	B-Application
banned	O
several	O
subreddits	O
dedicated	O
to	O
discussing	O
the	O
QAnon	O
conspiracy	O
theory	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
violated	O
its	O
rules	O
prohibiting	O
"	O
inciting	O
violence	O
,	O
harassment	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
dissemination	O
of	O
personal	O
information.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
caused	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
QAnon	O
posters	O
to	O
migrate	O
to	O
Voat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
's	O
CEO	O
announced	O
in	O
a	O
post	O
that	O
he	O
had	O
been	O
contacted	O
by	O
a	O
"	O
US	O
agency	O
"	O
about	O
threats	O
that	O
were	O
being	O
posted	O
on	O
the	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
post	O
,	O
he	O
wrote	O
that	O
Voat	B-Application
would	O
work	O
with	O
law	O
enforcement	O
and	O
take	O
down	O
any	O
"	O
gray	O
area	O
"	O
posts	O
if	O
requested	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Vice	O
,	O
"	O
Voat	B-Application
users	O
took	O
offense	O
to	O
the	O
perceived	O
curtailing	O
of	O
their	O
ability	O
to	O
post	O
racial	O
slurs	O
and	O
endorse	O
violence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voat	B-Application
's	O
web	O
hosting	O
service	O
,	O
Host	O
Europe	O
(	O
a	O
precursor	O
to	O
Webfusion	O
)	O
,	O
refused	O
service	O
to	O
Voat	B-Application
in	O
June	O
2015	O
,	O
alleging	O
that	O
the	O
service	O
"	O
was	O
publicizing	O
incitement	O
of	O
the	O
people	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
abusive	O
,	O
insulting	O
and	O
youth-endangering	O
content	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
illegal	O
right-wing	O
extremist	O
content.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Voat	B-Application
's	O
founder	O
attributed	O
the	O
shutdown	O
to	O
political	O
correctness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PayPal	O
froze	O
payment	O
processing	O
services	O
to	O
Voat	B-Application
the	O
same	O
month	O
due	O
to	O
"	O
sexually	O
oriented	O
materials	O
or	O
services.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Voat	B-Application
shut	O
down	O
four	O
of	O
its	O
own	O
subverses	O
in	O
response	O
,	O
two	O
of	O
which	O
hosted	O
sexualized	O
images	O
of	O
minors	O
(	O
"	O
jailbait	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
July	O
,	O
Voat	B-Application
,	O
alongside	O
WikiLeaks	O
,	O
was	O
subject	O
to	O
a	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
"	B-Protocol
dust	I-Protocol
"	I-Protocol
attack	I-Protocol
and	O
more	O
DDoS	O
attacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
attack	O
slowed	O
payment	O
processing	O
to	O
the	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DDoS	O
attack	O
,	O
launched	O
July	O
12	O
,	O
was	O
unsuccessful	O
due	O
to	O
Cloudflare	B-Application
DDoS	O
protection	O
services	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
had	O
the	O
side	O
effect	O
of	O
rendering	O
third-party	O
Voat	B-Application
apps	O
incapable	O
of	O
functioning	O
.	O
</s>
