For nearly a decade, social media has been dominated by broadcast-based social platforms where creators blast out a steady stream of content for followers to watch and comment on, often with no response. Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok all operate according to this model.

But now content creators are setting up accounts on chat apps, like Geneva, Discord and Telegram, where they can connect privately and directly with people they know are listening. Some say the toxicity and poor moderation on massive, open social networks have pushed them into these more controlled spaces, where they can speak freely without worrying about bad faith attacks.