Lemmy was released as an open-source fediverse alternative to Reddit.
Just over a year after launch, r/ChapoTrapHouse, moved across after being banned from Reddit. This is likely what you’re referring to. It had well over 100,000 active users on Reddit, so represented a sudden sizable influx of users.
I’d wager the biggest influx of people by far, though, occurred when Spez upset a majority of mods and many users by banning third party apps.
People looked for an alternative, and Lemmy was it.
But why are so many people who lean left politically? Because the Venn Diagram for “people who like the idea of a decentralised platform that supports everybody and is free from the machinations of millionaires”, and “people who would like society that supports everybody and is free from the machinations of millionaires” is nearly a circle.
That’s what I thought as well. No ads. No one tracking you. No one profiting off your data. Sounds like leftist ideals to me. Freedom from corporate bullshit.
Not everyone. But it’s definitely very overrepresented here, including some large communities of extremists that I don’t typically see elsewhere.
Overrepresented may not be correct, the majority of the english speaking world is far to the left of the US. Even the US population is like 60-70% left leaning, it’s just that the left has lower voter participation rates.
This used to be true, but I don’t think it is anymore. Or at least my perception is that some parts of the american left are way leftier than the europeans left are.
Being in so close proximity to the obvious evil of communist regimes might have something to do with it.
There are no communist regimes…
Both Russia and China are authoritarian dictatorships operating on a semblance of oligarchy controlled capitalism at this point.
Not at the moment (especially Russia, who doesn’t even claim to be), but they definitely were in the past.
Even the US population is like 60-70% left leaning, it’s just that the left has lower voter participation rates.
Left leaning vs leftist is a much higher bar and I’d wager under 20% of the US (voting) population is leftist. That’s just based on my memory of how few leftist representatives we have in congress… Far from an exact science.
I am definitely a liberal, but I’m by no means a leftist.
Left leaning Americans are still on the right compared to most countries.
No, I hate the term as it’s usually used as a pejorative and is so reductive as to be essentially meaningless. I’m a democratic socialist.
That’s a leftist. You’re a leftist, buddy.
I relate a bit, though. I think it’s cringe when socialists call each other “comrade”.
(I’m not though, but we’re definitely a downtrodden, highly abused and much ridiculed minority in these parts)
