Happy 5th Birthday, Gab.com

Today Gab turns five years old.

Over the course of five years we have faced many attacks from the American Oligarch Regime, but through the grace of God we are standing here today with a community of 15 million+ people from around the world using our services every month.

It’s really incredible to think about how much effort those in power have put into trying to stop us, and you, from speaking freely on the internet.

On the one hand you have Gab, a bootstrapped startup funded by its users and ran by a God-fearing stay-at-home Christian dad from his rural homestead. On the other you have the unlimited resources, influence, and political power of the American Oligarch Regime. A truly David versus Goliath story where once again God demonstrates His merciful Grace and magnificent power.

From the moment Gab launched they defamed us in the press.

They attacked my family, they attacked our community, and they attacked anyone associated with us. Surely no one would join a platform that the media labeled “alt right,” or so they thought.

They were wrong. The media attacks, and in particular our strong principled responses to them only made Gab grow stronger.

When the media smears failed they banned us from both app stores. They thought Gab would never survive without access to app store distribution. Yet we continued to grow anyway.

Next they pulled out the big guns and started banning us from every level of internet infrastructure. Domain registrars, email services, eCommerce services, payment processors, hosting services, VISA and Mastercard, and many more. It took us over a year, but we rebuilt from literally nothing and kept growing.

When all of that failed they started lobbying the government to arrest me and to make an “exception” to the First Amendment to shut Gab down.

Then they banned our bank accounts. Thankfully we were able to find several who fully support our mission, but only after months of hard work searching for a place to simply store our money.

All of this failed and will continue to fail because Gab is inevitable. We will never stop building. We will never give up. We will never bend the knee.

We are only online today because of the tremendous support from our community, the diligence and fortitude of our team, and the grace of God.

I want to sincerely thank all of you for being a part of the Gab community. Whether you joined five years ago or five minutes ago, we are building Gab for people like you to speak freely on the internet without permission from some petty tyrant in San Francisco or Washington D.C.

I share the trials of our journey to remind myself, and you, of just how far we have come together.

When you work on something as important as Gab for five years of your life it inevitably impacts you personally in profound ways. As I look back on all of the terrible things that the American Oligarch Regime has put my family through I can only come to one conclusion: it was all worth it and I’d do it again if I had to.

Everyday I am reminded by my wife and two young children of why our work at Gab is so crucial.

I want my kids to grow up in a country where they aren’t hated for their skin color, their faith, and their values. I want them to grow up with the same freedoms and access to information that I did both online and off.

I want these things for you and your family too. That is why I started Gab five years ago and that is why I will continue building Gab for as long as God gives me the precious gift of life to do so.

I will not sit by idly and watch as Christians are persecuted for their faith. I will not shut up and watch as an entire race of people is demonized, attacked, and dehumanized. I will not accept rigged elections, medical tyranny, and financial blacklisting as the “new normal.”

Now more than ever we must boldly speak truth to power and do everything we can to protect the free flow of information on the internet. That is what we have been doing for five years at Gab and that is what we will continue doing.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to our community members, our team members both past and present, and our customers, donors, and shareholders for making Gab possible. You all inspire, motivate, and encourage me to press forward in defense of free speech for all mankind and for the glory of Jesus Christ my King.

May God bless you and God bless Gab.

Andrew Torba
CEO, Gab.com
Jesus is King