The Metaverse (not ‘Meta’) is Going to Save Social Media and Here's Why

Back in 2021, when the “insurrection” took place on Capitol Hill, the initial brunt of the blame landed on then President Donald Trump, for inciting what has come to be known as one of the darkest days in US history. What we didn’t know at that point, was that Facebook would later, in a leaked internal report, take some of the blame for helping spread the “Stop the Steal” rhetoric and groups, who organized the entire thing on social media.

“When, later in the year, Facebook announced that it was changing its name, many thought it was to help wash away the years of ‘bad press’ the company had been receiving”

On the 6th of January, Facebook was receiving 40,000 reports PER HOUR of “false news” that was spreading like wildfire across the platform, and the country. Had they taken action sooner, and more decisively, to quell the flood of misinformation, and prevent more “Stop the Steal” posts being pushed to the top of feeds — it probably would have made a world of difference.

When, later in the year, Facebook announced that it was changing its name, many thought it was to help wash away the years of ‘bad press’ the company had been receiving. From the Cambridge Analytica scandal, to the platform being used to incite genocide against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar, and culminating in the Capitol riots.

To many, though, the name change to Meta was a stroke of genius. Not only because it went some way towards serving the goal of the aforementioned, but by rebranding to Meta, they established themselves as the dominant namespace in the Metaverse. In fact, Meta is so good at hijacking words (messenger, anyone), that many people think the Metaverse IS Meta!

“Imagine if all those 40,000 reports per hour were actually affecting change on the content algorithm, in real time, while they were being made? The result would have been profoundly different.”

As the number of articles about the Metaverse (like this one), and thousands more started popping up all over the web, millions of readers became enlightened as to the true nature of the Metaverse. And, it couldn’t have been further from what Meta had been, still is, and will always be — a centralized tech company who are beholden to their shareholders, with absolutely zero trust factor from its users. Not a recipe for Metaverse success!

So, what does success in the Metaverse look like? Education, and empowerment, via Web3 projects like Uhive, that are building Metaverse platforms with core Web3 features; decentralization, creator-economies, and transparency powered by blockchain-tech. Imagine if all those 40,000 reports per hour were actually affecting change on the content algorithm, in real-time, while they were being made? The result would have been profoundly different.

“Because of the interoperability promised by Web3, this type of content and behavior will be very hard to keep siloed to specific communities and groups.”

That’s why Uhive created the Magna Carta Initiative (MCI) — a decentralized community moderation protocol. The purpose of the MCI isn’t to de-platform, or shadow-ban anyone (Uhive doesn’t even have that ability). It was created to give everyone using the platform the ability to moderate content and take action on it, collectively. Uhive’s team doesn’t get to decide whether those who took part in the Capitol riots should have a voice or not, but, when the overwhelming majority of users opt to take action to reduce the reach of specific content, that action will take place instantly on Uhive.

Because of the immersive nature of the Metaverse, platforms that don’t adopt a decentralized approach to moderation, will be plagued with problems. Think about the impact of toxic content when the experience is immersive? The amount of damage it can do will be ten-fold, and the difficulty of moderating this type of content will also be enhanced.

Because of the interoperability promised by Web3, this type of content and behaviour will be very hard to keep siloed to specific communities and groups. It will spill over into industry-specific platforms, where a ‘one-trick-pony’ centralized moderation team, simply won’t be able to spot and catch every misnomer perpetuated by these different groups. Users, the communities themselves, can.

Uhive stands for a handful of social media revolutions that are breaking the decades-old norm and disrupting the status-quo that currently stands between Big Tech and individuals who use social media. While these include the Oasis and the Magna Carta Protocol, Uhive’s most ambitious and sweeping goal is to share all of its wealth and success with everyone via a universal income proposal, which unconditionally distributes dividends (via tokens) for all active users on a daily basis. Simply put — success and wealth should not be distributed between only those who own equity in Uhive, but all those that participate in making Uhive a success!

Download the application and join the Metaverse, it’s available on Android and iOS: www.uhive.com

Also published here.