BitChute, a video-sharing site founded in 2017, is one of several alternative social media platforms that have created small but generally satisfied communities of news consumers. In October 2022, Pew Research Center released a study that looked closely at BitChute and six other such sites: Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social.

Here are key facts about BitChute and its users, based on the Center’s study.

• Overall, 7% of U.S. adults say they have heard of BitChute, and only 1% regularly get news there. Americans are less aware of BitChute than many of the other alternative social media sites studied by the Center. For example, 38% of U.S. adults have heard of Parler, 27% each have heard of Truth Social and Telegram, and 20% have heard of Rumble. Awareness of Gab and Gettr (11% and 10%, respectively) is roughly on par with awareness of BitChute.

  Overall, just 6% of Americans regularly get news from at least one of the seven sites the Center studied, and no single site is used for news by more than 2% of U.S. adults. In comparison, many more Americans get news from more established social media sites, including Facebook (31%), YouTube (25%) and Twitter (14%).

• BitChute says it is committed to freedom of expression and is against censorship, but it still moderates content at least to some extent. BitChute also says it opposes “platform bias,” “oppression or incitement” and “mob rule.”

  A review of BitChute’s moderation policies from September 2022 shows that it moderates content beyond spam or legal requirements at least to some extent – either by removing posts or suspending or banning accounts deemed to be offensive.

  Some of this moderation has occurred as a result of government oversight. In 2021, BitChute updated its community guidelines including a section prohibiting “incitement to hatred” – a step it took after consultation with Ofcom, an oversight agency in the United Kingdom. In 2020, BitChute joined the United Nations’ “Tech Against Terrorism” partnership, leading the platform to remove extremist and violent content such as posts about mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Buffalo, New York. BitChute has also banned certain extremist groups from the platform and published its first transparency report. At the same time, BitChute has hosted violent and offensive content in recent years, including videos by at least one creator who called for attacks on members of U.S. Congress in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

• BitChute uses many revenue streams to support the site, including advertising, donations and account upgrades. BitChute’s “account upgrades” include bronze, silver and gold membership options users can purchase; each option increases the number of video channels an account can host. BitChute also accepts cryptocurrency donations.

• Most of BitChute’s prominent accounts are run by individuals, not organizations. The Center examined 200 prominent accounts on BitChute, selected from those with the most followers. As of June 2022, about nine-in-ten prominent accounts (87%) were individuals, while one-in-ten were organizations. Of those individuals, 8% were individuals with a clear past or present affiliation with an organization of some kind.

• About a third of prominent accounts on BitChute have been banned or demonetized on other social media sites – the highest percentage among the seven sites studied by the Center. As of June 2022, 35% of prominent accounts on the site had been permanently banned, suspended or demonetized on other social media sites. This was higher than the site with the second-highest share, Rumble (22%), and the other sites studied.

• Many prominent BitChute accounts solicit funds from their followers. BitChute and Rumble stand out among the seven sites studied for having particularly large shares of prominent accounts that solicit funds from their followers. Both of these sites focus on video content, which often has high production costs. More than half of the 200 BitChute accounts studied (57%) asked for donations as of June 2022, with 22% doing so using Patreon – a membership platform that allows content creators to receive subscription fees from supporters – and 13% by selling merchandise.

• Fewer than half of prominent BitChute accounts express a political orientation or value or identity appeal. Among the prominent accounts studied in June 2022, 40% contained any political orientation or value or identity appeal in their profiles, a smaller share than four other studied sites (Truth Social, Gab, Gettr and Parler). Similarly, only 3% of prominent BitChute accounts expressed right-leaning views or voiced support of former President Donald Trump, less than any other alternative social media sites the Center studied.

• Abortion, guns and gun rights, and LGBTQ issues were among the subjects that prominent BitChute accounts discussed in June 2022. A review of posts from these 200 accounts found that about half or more posted about abortion (55%), guns and gun rights (53%) or LGBTQ issues (47%); 44% posted about vaccines and 40% posted about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (These posts came amid widespread discussion of several high-profile shootings and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and at a time when a U.S. House committee was investigating the Jan. 6 riot. Vaccinations and LGBTQ issues were also regularly in the news.)

• About two-thirds (66%) of U.S. adults who regularly get news from any of the seven alternative social media sites studied by the Center – including BitChute – identify as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party. This is far higher than the share who identify as Democrats or who lean Democratic (33%). By comparison, those who get news on at least one of three more established social media sites studied by the Center – Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – are more likely to be Democrats or Democratic leaners than Republicans or Republican leaners.

Note: Here are the questions used in the study, detailed tables and the methodology.