‘Sin-free’ alternative to Facebook.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A group of Brazilian evangelical Christians has seen its Facegloria social networking website attract 100,000 users in its first month, offering a “morally better” version of Facebook that is centered on God.
“On Facebook you see a lot of violence and pornography. That’s why we thought of creating a network where we could talk about God, love and to spread His word,” one of the founders, web designer Atilla Barros, told Agence France-Press in an interview.
“The position of Facebook on the issue of homosexuality and its collaboration with gay right group the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination, coupled with its troublesome written policies, are all strong indicators that its social networking platform poses a high index of risk for anti-Christian discrimination,” the National Religious Broadcasters accused in 2011.
Facegloria, billed as the “sin-free” alternative to Facebook, was created with the burgeoning Christian evangelist population of Brazil in mind. Long home to the world’s largest Catholic population, Brazil has undergone a significant shift toward Christian evangelism, a movement that has expanded from 5 percent of the country’s population in 1970 to 22 percent in 2010, according to Yahoo! News.
On Facegloria, which spoofs Facebook’s interface and aesthetic, “Like” has been replaced with “Amen.” Photos or videos considered violent or erotic are not allowed, nor is the use of about 600 words.
Facebook remains by far the largest social networking site in the world, and recently passed 1.23 billion monthly active users.
“In two years we hope to get to 10 million users in Brazil. In a month we have had 100,000 and in two we are expecting a big increase thanks to a mobile phone app,” Barros remarked to the Christian Post.