Gab, he said in an online statement, is "not an 'antisemitic' platform" and is simply a social media outlet aimed at "protect[ing] the political speech of All Americans, regardless of viewpoint, because in this age of cancel culture nobody else will."
He added that there are many Jewish users on the platform.
The comments were responding to Abbott's allegations, which were made after the Texas Republican Party vice chairwoman Cat Parks called on the party to delete its account on Gab. Abbott endorsed the call, releasing a video on Twitter claiming that "antisemitic platforms like Gab have no place in Texas and certainly do not represent Texas values."
Gab is a well-known social media platform that exists as an alternative or sorts to the major mainstream outlets. The company prides itself as a free-speech outlet, without any censorship. This is similar to Parler, another alternative outlet that also marketed itself as a censorship-free platform compared to what many felt was an overabundance of censorship on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.Anti-Semitic platforms do not represent Texas values.Proud to support @PhilKingTX & @GoldmanCraig’s bill to fight anti-Semitism in our communities. #txlege pic.twitter.com/ZVri3z0Wis
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) March 11, 2021
However, both Gab and Parler have been accused of being havens of the far Right, with its lack of censorship making it a desirable platform for those whose views would see them banned on other outlets.
Notably, many Parler users were known to have used the platform to help coordinate the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
While Parler has lost its host, Amazon, and is thus no longer active, Gab remains running.