Locals Technology Inc., also referred to as locals.com, is a creator
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
site cofounded by Dave Rubin and Assaf Lev. It started in 2019 and is based in Miami.
The site was founded after Rubin and
Jordan Peterson
Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian media personality, clinical psychologist, author, and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. He began to receive widespread attention as a public intellectual in the late 2010s ...
hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
. The startup raised just over $1 million from 10 506(b) private placement investors in March 2020. Locals announced further funding of $3.8 million on April 20, 2021 led by Craft Ventures.
The site deviates from the advertising and views model adopted by traditional social media, in favor of a
paywall
A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of ...
approach that provides several benefits for both creators and consumers according to interviews.
Assaf Lev is the President and CEO; Lev was previously an executive at QualiSystems.
Andrew Conru
Andrew Conru is an American internet businessman who has founded e-commerce, advertising, online dating, and personal ad sites including W3, AdKnowledge, WebPersonals, FriendFinder, and Adult FriendFinder. He is the CEO of FriendFinder Networks ...
is also a director.
Locals was acquired by
Rumble
Rumble or Rumbling may refer to:
Sounds and vibrations
* Rumble (noise), a form of low frequency noise
* Rumble, a haptic feedback vibration feature in video game controllers
* Rumbling, a quality of a heart murmur
* Stomach rumble, or borbory ...
David Freiheit
David Freiheit (born May 23, 1979), is a Canadian lawyer, former political candidate for the People's Party of Canada and YouTuber under the pseudonym Viva Frei.
Biography
Freiheit grew up in Montreal, Quebec, as the youngest of five sibli ...
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Andy Ngo
Andy Cuong Ngo ( ; born ) is an American conservative journalist, author, and right-wing social media influencer known for covering and video-recording demonstrators. He is the editor-at-large of '' The Post Millennial'', a Canadian conserva ...
Zuby
Nzube Olisaebuka Udezue (born 19 August 1986), better known by his stage name Zuby, is a British rapper and podcaster. Born to Nigerian parents in Luton, Udezue was raised in Saudi Arabia and educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He began rapping ...
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Zubin Damania
Zubin Damania (born April 23, 1973) is an American physician, assistant professor, comedian, internet personality, and musician. He also has been writing and performing comedic raps as ZDoggMD, an internet celebrity known for his music videos, pa ...
Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. is an American internet retailer selling primarily furniture headquartered in Midvale, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Businessman Patrick M. Byrne founded Overstock.com in 1999. The company initially sold exclusively surplus and ...
Kat Timpf
Katherine Clare Timpf (; born October 29, 1988), known professionally as Kat Timpf, is a libertarian columnist, television personality, reporter, and comedian. She has frequently appeared on Fox News Channel's ''The Greg Gutfeld Show'' (now kno ...
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Andrew Gruel
Andrew Gruel (born July 12, 1980) is an American chef and television personality, based in Orange County, California. He appeared as a judge on Food Network's '' Food Truck Face Off'' and as a host of FYI's ''Say It to My Face!'', and is the fou ...
Liz Wheeler
Elizabeth Theresa Wheeler (born July 12, 1989) is an American conservative political commentator, author, and podcast host. From 2015 to 2020, Wheeler hosted One America News Network (OANN)'s ''Tipping Point with Liz Wheeler'', where she was k ...
Konstantin Kisin
Konstantin Kisin (; born 25 December 1982) is a Russian-British satirist, podcaster, author and political commentator. Kisin has written for a number of publications including ''Quillette'', ''The Spectator'', ''The Daily Telegraph'' and '' Stand ...
Charlie Kirk
Charles J. Kirk (born 1993) is an American conservative activist and radio talk show host. He founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery in 2012, and has served as its executive director since. He is the CEO of Turning Point Action, Stude ...
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...
Steven Crowder
Steven Blake Crowder ( ; born July 7, 1987) is an American-Canadian conservative political commentator and media host.
Early in his career, Crowder worked for Fox News and posted satirical videos on conservative media platforms. He then began h ...
See also
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Thinkspot
Thinkspot is an online social networking service started by Jordan Peterson following the banning of several content producers from the membership platform Patreon. Peterson and Dave Rubin conceived of the site together as a platform centered on ...