Clubhouse allows young conservatives to speak, without fear of censorship

Clubhouse, an invitation-only app featuring audio-chat rooms for iPhone users, has become a popular place for discourse among young conservatives as they are able to avoid the right-wing censorship that is present on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.

The New York Times said it consisted of "unfettered conversations" and that there were "misinformation" concerns on the app. The paper alleged that there were reports of conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations and harassment of a female doctor.

However, part of the appeal of the app that exploded in popularity in February is that discussions would not be moderated or censored like posts on Twitter, for example. Conversations are not fact-checked or censored, and users are not suspended or banned for discourse.

It has been a place where young conservatives, as well as anyone else, have been able to converse freely about anything from important political topics to satire, such as the Babylon Bee. 

Clubhouse is often referred to as "Conservative Twitter." Many have flocked to it for nightly conversations with people they have met on Twitter, in order to have conversations that may sometimes consist of sensitive topics, without fear of retaliation by Twitter.

Since recording conversations is against the rules on Clubhouse, conservatives on the app feel safe from being canceled for unpopular comments. While inappropriate remarks can still be heard on Clubhouse, those upset are just expected to leave the room. 

The closest thing to conservative censorship in a Clubhouse room would be the equivalent of a Zoom meeting. Moderators of each room are able to mute participants, remove them from the room, or move them to the "listeners" section of the room so they are not permitted to speak. This is typically only done to restore order in the room when a participant is interrupting or trolling during a serious conversation such as "The Future of the Republican Party," which took place on several occasions.

Notable conservative favorites, such as Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) and political commentator David French, have found themselves on the platform having conversations with young conservatives from around the country about policy, the conservative movement and more.

"Our goal was to build a social experience that felt more human, where instead of posting, you could gather with other people and talk," Clubhouse founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth said in a blog post in January. "Our north star was to create something where you could close the app at the end of the session feeling better than you did when you opened it, because you had deepened friendships, met new people and learned."

The app currently requires an invitation from an existing user to join, and is only available to Apple devices. However, the founders have said they hope to open it up to Android users soon.

Once in the app, users can join audio chat rooms with topics listed at the top of each room. Users can also look to see which rooms their "mutuals" are in.