Https://odysee.com/$/news
Executive summary
Odysee’s News page is part of a decentralized, blockchain-backed video platform that markets itself as a free-speech alternative to YouTube [1] [2]. Independent analysts and major news investigations flag Odysee as having lax moderation that has allowed conspiracy, extremist and misinformation content to proliferate on the site, making its “News” feed a high-risk place for unvetted claims [3] [4] [5].
1. What Odysee is and how its News page fits the platform’s model
Odysee runs on the LBRY blockchain protocol and distributes videos peer-to-peer rather than via centralized servers, which the platform cites as an advantage over mainstream hosts [1] [2]. Its News page is a category view of content uploaded to that network, reflecting the platform’s open-posting, creator-driven ethos rather than editorial curation by established news organizations [6] [1].
2. Independent ratings and credibility red flags
Media Bias/Fact Check rates Odysee as right-leaning with a “conspiracy‑pseudoscience” bias and low factual reporting credibility, noting that the audience and many top creators favor right-leaning and fringe theories [3]. Wikipedia and other summaries likewise emphasize that Odysee’s lighter moderation has coincided with the spread of hate speech and misinformation on the service since its 2020 launch [2] [7].
3. Reporting and investigations that document harmful content patterns
Investigations by Reuters and The Guardian documented that some of Odysee’s most-viewed items on major news events contained abusive disinformation, including false claims about mass shootings and material promoting white‑supremacist viewpoints, and showed the platform attracting creators banned elsewhere [4] [5]. Researchers also documented migration of removed COVID-related videos from YouTube to Odysee, underscoring the platform’s role as a refuge for content taken down on mainstream services [8].
4. The platform’s moderation posture and its consequences
Odysee’s moderation is more permissive than mainstream platforms, and internal guidance reported by The Guardian suggested tolerance for extreme viewpoints unless they explicitly violated narrow removal criteria, a stance critics say enables extremist content to remain visible [5] [7]. This regulatory gap has been linked by researchers and journalists to the platform becoming a secondary home for creators seeking an uncensored audience [1] [4].
5. Counterpoints: freedoms, diversity of content, and use cases
Proponents argue Odysee serves creators who were deplatformed or demonetized on larger sites and that its open protocol supports decentralization and innovation in monetization and storage [1]. The platform does host a mix of creators, including some mainstream and left-leaning shows, and not every upload is misinformation; researchers stress the need for per-video fact-checking rather than blanket dismissal [3] [1].
6. Practical guidance for someone encountering Odysee’s News feed
Given documented patterns of misinformation and extremist content on Odysee’s most popular videos, users should treat claims found on the News page as unverified until corroborated by reputable outlets or primary-source evidence, since platform-level curation is limited [4] [8]. Independent ratings and investigations provide consistent warnings but also show the platform’s technical merits and claimed user benefits, so evaluation must be content-specific [3] [1].
7. What reporting cannot settle from the available sources
The sources catalog widespread problematic content and moderation choices but do not offer a comprehensive, quantified audit of every video on Odysee’s News page at the present moment, so definitive statements about today’s News feed composition are beyond what these reports alone can prove [4] [2]. Available research and journalism do establish a clear pattern that warrants skepticism, but up-to-the-minute verification requires direct inspection or updated platform analytics not provided here [6] [8].