[explain]

> Though from what I understand Mastodon was service that got traction from the US right not the US left

Definitely the US left.

When the US right tried to use Mastodon, their instances got cut off and in many cases, Mastodon apps would block connecting to them entirely.

[rsynnott]

Or, indeed, they self-isolate (gab doesn't federate anymore, ol' minihands' Mastodon instance never did).

[explain]

Gab did initially federate, but all the big instances blocked them and many app clients blocked connecting to Gab's instance.