Did Gab follow Christian principles by censoring its British users?
Claiming to be for free speech while simultaneously folding under pressure smacks of cowardice
Over the years I have endured a lot of censorship, and I had thought it was over. I was wrong. The latest episode is a deplatforming “friendly fire” — as Gab has excluded all UK access from its platform, under pressure from the British authorities.
Gab provided a welcome refuge after Twitter kicked me off years ago, and for that I am grateful. I was a paying Pro user for a while, which I only stopped due to lack of funds and the barriers they face to international payments. Gab is a good product and a valued platform. So it really surprised me to find that it has folded in the face of threats from the British state — while simultaneously claiming these threats are empty, as Gab is a strictly American corporation. Either you are in the anti-censorship camp or you are not; there is no middle ground.
Still soliciting my money while preventing me from access is not a good look.
I asked ChatGPT to explain how this is self-sabotage in information warfare terms, and fails to align to the Christian values that Gab’s founder loudly proclaims. It does a better job than I can do of such analysis, and I think you will find it an instructive read. I hope Gab has a rethink on this matter, and not just out of personal self-interest. Either we all stand together in resisting tyranny, or we fall divided. By retreating, instead of standing firm even in the face of oppression, Gab has ceded moral high ground. I don’t have the whole picture, but on the face of it, this is a mistake.
Over to ChatGPT…
Gab turned a non-binding censorship threat into a self-inflicted wound, exiling its own users to look tough. That’s not Fifth-Generation Warfare (5GW) strategy—it’s narrative self-sabotage. In 5GW, you win by holding terrain (access, trust, perception) while exposing the enemy’s overreach. Gab ceded ground preemptively, punished its allies, and then begged them for money. It mistook reaction for resistance, and in doing so, mirrored the very censorship it claims to fight. Real 5GW warriors don’t block their own supply lines to make a point. They stay in the fight—truthfully, visibly, and with their people intact.
Gab’s actions—cutting off access to its own users in the UK while issuing public declarations of defiance and private pleas for money—sit in deep tension with the Christian values it claims to uphold, particularly those promoted by its CEO Andrew Torba. Let's examine this through the lens of Biblical ethics, Christian community, and spiritual leadership.
🕊️ 1. Truthfulness and Integrity
Christianity teaches that truth is not optional—it is foundational. Christ is described as "the way, the truth, and the life". Publicly stating that Ofcom “has no jurisdiction” while blocking users anyway undermines the claim to be standing in truth.
If there was real risk—financial, legal, or personal—it should have been named openly. Concealing fear with theatrical defiance isn’t strength; it’s deception by omission.
Proverbs 10:9 – "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out."
A Christian leader must tell the truth, especially when it’s costly. The block, as carried out, was not just strategically incoherent—it was spiritually dishonest.
🤝 2. Loyalty to the Flock
Gab shut out its loyal UK users, including American expatriates, who had stood by the platform through years of reputational assault. This is akin to a shepherd abandoning the sheep when a wolf howls in the distance.
John 10:12-13 – "The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away... He cares nothing for the sheep."
True Christian leadership doesn’t sacrifice the weak or distant members of the community to protect its core—it sacrifices itself to protect the body.
This block did the opposite: cut the limb to save the torso, then turned around and asked the amputated limb for money.
💔 3. Refusing the Sin of Partiality
James 2 condemns partiality—the practice of treating some with favor and others with disregard. By blocking users from one nation, Gab has created a hierarchy of access based on geography, not faith or principle.
James 2:1 – "Show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory."
Gab’s act implies that only Americans matter, and only they deserve open access to speech. That’s nationalism, not Christianity. If the Gospel is borderless, so must be any movement that claims to stand on its values.
⚖️ 4. Sacrifice vs. Self-Preservation
At the core of the Christian walk is sacrificial service—doing what is right regardless of cost. Gab's decision appears driven by fear of financial loss or reputational risk, not a willingness to suffer for righteousness.
Romans 12:1 – "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice..."
Matthew 16:24 – "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross..."
Instead of bearing the cost of defying censorship while keeping access open, Gab took a self-preserving shortcut. Then it disguised it in spiritual language.
This is not the cross. It’s the brand of the cross—worn like a slogan, not carried in suffering.
🙏 5. Christian Leadership Must Serve, Not Fleece
Paul wrote that shepherds are not to exploit the flock, but to care for it willingly and eagerly. To block users and then immediately send them a plea for cash is exploitative, even if unintentional.
1 Peter 5:2 – "Shepherd the flock of God that is among you... not for shameful gain, but eagerly."
Even if Gab’s need is real—and it likely is—begging for funds after severing community access is not a Christian model of stewardship. It’s a marketing play dressed in theological garments.
✝️ Final Reflection
Gab’s actions do not reflect core Christian values. They reflect:
Fear, not faith.
Control, not trust.
Exclusion, not fellowship.
Self-preservation, not sacrifice.
There is still time for correction—true repentance means transparency, apology, and re-inclusion of those harmed. But until then, the platform’s claims to operate as a Christian institution must be weighed not by its slogans, but by its fruit.
Matthew 7:16 – "By their fruit you will recognize them."
And right now, the fruit is bitter.