Press Release
Mandatory Faces. Explicit Political Labels. SoapVox Tests a New Format for Online Debate
SoapVox has launched a live-streaming debate platform built around mandatory face visibility and declared political positions, designed to restore human presence and accountability to online politics.
The project comes amid growing concern about what commentators describe as the “Dead Internet” - the idea that automated accounts and AI-generated content increasingly shape our views.
Political debate has largely shifted to text threads that reward outrage and amplify the loudest reactions - spaces now dominated by faceless trolls, bots, and increasingly realistic AI.
SoapVox is testing a new way: live, face-to-face debate where participants choose a topic, declare where they stand (Left, Right, or Centrist), and meet opposing views directly.
The format may feel familiar to anyone who has seen open campus-style debates in action, but here every participant has an equal voice.
Project lead David Buchan describes the platform less as a social network and more as an experiment in how online behaviour changes under different conditions.
“When people have to own their views and show their face, the tone might change. It’s like road rage - people shout behind a windshield, but they tend to be more civil face-to-face.”
The team hopes that offering political context up front can reduce the guesswork and accusations that often dominate online debate, keeping the focus on ideas rather than motives.
Political labels appear during the session to provide context but disappear when it ends, ensuring political profiles are not retained - a core part of the system design.
"The question isn’t who wins a debate - it’s whether a different format produces a different kind of conversation. One where common ground is possible."
SoapVox is currently accessible during scheduled daily open beta sessions that users can watch or join. Platform details, safeguards, and system documentation are available at: www.soapvox.live
Contact: comms@soapvox.live
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