Vladimir Putin's Forkiverse
Summary
Search Engine hosts PJ Vogt, Casey Newton, and Kevin Rusos discuss the collapse of their experimental federated social network, the Forkverse. They reveal that the platform was infiltrated by Russian disinformation bots from the "Portal Combat" network, leading to a decision to shut it down. The episode covers the challenges of maintaining a decentralized community, the financial costs of hosting, and the difficulty of competing with major platforms. The hosts also interview Evan Prodromau, a key figure in the Fediverse, to reflect on the experiment's lessons and the ongoing search for bett…
Topics discussed
Intro: The opposite of moguls and minion work situations
Origin story: Launching the Forkverse and the fediverse concept
Early success: 10,000 users and the ideal social network
Strike 1: Hosting costs and the 'victim of success' problem
Strike 2: Declining engagement and the 'vegetable' social media feel
The third strike: A major incident is teased
Strike 3: Russian disinformation (Portal Combat) infiltrates the server
Analysis: How the 'base account' hack bypassed moderation
Evidence: Reviewing the propaganda posts and fake personas
Options: Shut down immediately or hand over to IFTAS
Debate: The cost of maintenance and the decision to close
Reflections: Shame, the failure of alternatives, and returning to X
Final decision: One month grace period and the 'dog upstate' vote
Promo: Machine Gods and the humor of outdated Russian bots
Sponsors: Notion and Mubi
Interview: Evan Prodromau on the fediverse and community
Outro: Instructions for migrating accounts before shutdown
Credits and support information
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