Sidechat is an anonymous social media application for college students. The app requires a student email to post to a school specific community.[1] The format of Sidechat is similar to Reddit and it is only available on iOS.[2][3]
Sidechat launched early 2022 to a few universities, the app recruited students to help market its launch both in person and online, with some creating Instagram accounts as to promote it.[1] In 2023, Sidechat acquired Yik Yak, which was a similar platform launched in 2013. Fizz, a similar app, has filed a lawsuit in 2023 against Sidechat for unfair competition.[4]
Sidechat has played a role in the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.[5] The moderation of Sidechat is controversial, posts are not filtered before publication.[6] Several universities' administrations have found moderation on the platform to be problematic. Minouche Shafik, President of Columbia University, called the app "poisonous" and said that Sidechat had the "most egregious cases" of "antisemitism, Islamophobia, [and] racist comments" in an April 2024 hearing with the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.[5] Harvard and Brown had called for increased moderation on the platform before the protests.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b Kambhampaty, Anna (May 27, 2022). "Sidechat Wants to Be College Students' Main Chat". The New York Times.
- ^ "What the Hell Happened: New App Called Sidechat Takes off at Harvard | Arts | The Harvard Crimson". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
- ^ Aitken, Madeleine. "Sidechat is bringing community — and toxicity — to Harvard and Tufts". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
- ^ Perez, Sarah (2023-10-09). "Buzzy social app Fizz sues rival Sidechat over unfair competition practices". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
- ^ a b Ingram, Julia; Doan, Laura (2024-05-03). "What is Sidechat? The controversial app students have used amid campus protests, explained - CBS News". CBS News. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
- ^ Schermele, Zachary. "College students love Sidechat. Colleges, not so much". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
- ^ Barnett, Sofia. "How Sidechat Fanned the Flames of University Campus Protests". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-12-12.