Forward Research, the driving force behind the decentralized data storage platform Arweave, has acquired YouTube alternative Odysee, a video-sharing site that has been scrutinized for a lack of content moderation.

Forward Research's team views the decentralized Odysee as both a testament to free speech and one of the strongest examples of a robust, blockchain-powered social media site.

"Odyssee is a web3 video sharing platform known for anti-censorship with over 7 million monthly active users, more than 20x more users than Farcaster," the company said in a statement.

Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) published a scathing report that classified Odysee as a threat. "Odysee has little to no content moderation and provides a steady income stream for hate groups and extremists," it said in its report.

Forward Research CEO Sam Williams rebuffed the SPLC's characterization of Odysee, calling the platform an example of free speech in action.

"A healthy democracy requires free speech," Williams told The Block. "Free discourse amongst peers is the process by which a society thinks. If you limit an ability of a society to think, it cannot make effective decisions, the very purpose of a democracy itself."

The acquisition of Odysee comes at a time when political polarization and distrust in media have arguably reached troubling levels globally as people increasingly turn to social media as a source for news and analysis on world and local events.

Odysee's proposition includes the idea that because it is a decentralized platform — as opposed to Google-owned YouTube, which is centralized and practices considerable, if not always effective, content moderation — free and open discourse is being encouraged rather than censored.

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"The best answer to speech you don't agree with is your speech. Explain why you disagree and convince people," Williams said.

Proponents of online content moderation would likely argue that without certain guardrails in place, the internet is prone to amplify misinformation, which can often have dire consequences.

On the Arweave protocol

Looking ahead, Forward Research said that both Odysee and Solarplex, another web3 social media network acquired by the company, will be built and grown on Arweave's protocol, according to the company's statement.

“Over the past year we’ve been working on the next evolution of Odysee on Arweave and AO, giving Odysee users complete autonomy and self governance with no compromises," Odysee CEO Julian Chandra said in the statement.

According to the company's X profile, "Solarplex helps creators build authentic relationships with their audience and earn an income without ads."