Eyou Raises €300k To Build A European Social Media Platform Focused On Trust

eYou a new European social media platform designed to combat online misinformation and rebuild trust in digital conversations, has secured €300,000 in pre-seed funding from Fil Rouge Capital, ahead of its public launch in May.

eYou integrates real-time fact-checking tools directly into the social media experience, allowing users to verify the accuracy of claims — an approach its founders believe will help restore trust in online debate. 

I spoke to CCO Grégoire Vigroux to learn more. 

eYou has been built on European privacy and data protection standards at its core, ensuring that user data is safeguarded from the outset.

The startup was founded by Grégoire Vigroux (CCO) and Jasseem Allybokus (CEO), two French entrepreneurs who have been based in Romania for more than a decade and chose Bucharest as the launchpad for the European-scale social media initiative, but it is open to users globally.

Grégoire Vigroux is a long-time entrepreneur and investor active in the Central and Eastern European startup ecosystem. He has four successful exits under his belt, including CallPoint, which sold to global customer experience platform TELUS Digital and became TELUS Digital Europe, and mobile food waste app Bonapp.

From Twitter frustration to a new platform

The idea behind Vigroux’s project was sparked by his own experience using today’s dominant platforms.

“I actually loved Twitter in the early days,” he explains.

“But last year I logged in and my feed was dominated by posts from Elon Musk — even though I had never followed him.”

For Vigroux, the moment illustrated how easily social platforms can be shaped by the priorities or influence of their owners.

“That made me realise how easily platforms can be influenced by the people who control them,” he says.

Another incident reinforced his concerns. Shortly before the Romanian presidential election, Telegram founder Pavel Durov sent a message directly to all Romanian users, accusing France of interfering in the vote, on the very morning people were heading to the polls.

“When something like that happens just before people vote, you realise how powerful these platforms have become in shaping public opinion,” Vigroux says.

Those experiences convinced him that social media platforms now play a growing role in politics and democratic processes — and that entrepreneurs have a responsibility to address the risks. “As entrepreneurs, our job is to identify problems and build solutions,” he explains.

“Social media is increasingly influencing elections and public debate. At the same time, discussions around digital sovereignty were gaining traction across Europe.

That’s when I started thinking the timing might be right to build a European alternative. “

Unlike traditional social networks that amplify engagement at any cost, eYou has been built to prioritise trust,” said Vigroux.

“Social media was originally meant to connect people and democratise information. But over time, it has also become a powerful engine for polarisation and misinformation. We believe there is a real need, and urgent demand, for a new type of platform built around transparency, accountability and trust.” 

Fighting misinformation and fake news with real-time AI fact-checking

 One of the biggest problems in social media is that fake news spreads much faster than real news — some studies suggest up to six times faster. To tackle this, the eYou platform includes a fact-checking button under every post. When someone clicks it, the system analyses the post and evaluates the factual accuracy of its claims. 

Posts can be up to 3,000 characters, so there might be 20 or 30 individual claims in a single post. Each claim receives an accuracy score — for example, 2 per cent, 55 per cent, or 100 per cent — along with an explanation. By clicking the post, the user will get an AI-generated pop-up assessment based on credible, neutral sources that summarises the veracity of each claim. This enables users to challenge misinformation in real time while maintaining the flow of discussion. 

According to Vigroux, there’s also an educational element to it. Over time, users develop a reputation score based on the accuracy of the content they share. 

He explained that people who consistently post reliable information will appear more often in feeds and recommendations. 

“Users spreading misinformation will simply not be promoted by the algorithm.”

Using multiple AI models to reduce bias

However, determining what counts as fake news or fact can be subjective. For example, satirical sites like The Onion, Beoota Advocate, and The Daily Mash are technically news sites but could be misconstrued as fact. 

In response, eYou decided not to rely on a single LLM. Vigroux explained:

“Instead, we use several models simultaneously. Four LLMs compete in real time to provide the most accurate fact-checking response.

Because each model has its own biases, having multiple models helps reduce the risk of relying on a single perspective.”

And in terms of satire, which has been classified as factual news in the past, the founders tested a publication on the day of the interview, and the system correctly recognised the content as satire. The fact-checking flagged it as satirical content created for humour.

The eYou interface is intentionally simple. At the centre of every post is the fact-checking button, which is our core feature. On the left side, there are two reactions: a thumbs-up labelled “Agree”, and a thumbs-down labelled “Disagree.”

If a user disagrees with a post, they must leave a comment explaining why. The goal is to encourage debate rather than passive reactions. On the right side, there’s a comment button and an emoji reaction feature. 

“Initially we debated whether to include emojis, " explained Vigroux, but our focus groups told us the platform shouldn’t feel too serious. People still want some sense of enjoyment.”

Making algorithms transparent

The platform also introduces a transparency feature that allows users to see and edit the profile the algorithm builds about them. Rather than operating as a hidden “black box” as other platforms do, eYou’s recommendation system allows users to modify the signals that shape their feed - giving them the option to broaden their content exposure  to a wider diversity of viewpoints and step outside algorithm-driven echo chambers. 

Given the growing complexity of moderating online platforms — from deepfakes and harassment to the spread of harmful content — I asked eYou how it plans to address the challenge. Vigroux acknowledges that the company is still actively working through the issue.

“This is something we’re still thinking about very carefully,” he says.

“For example, with content related to conspiracy theories, homophobia, or misogyny, we’re considering different approaches. One option is to ban it outright. Another is to allow it to exist but heavily penalise it through the algorithm so it never gains visibility.”

According to Vigroux, the central challenge lies in balancing open expression with responsible moderation.

“Finding the right balance between freedom of expression and moderation is difficult,” he says.

“We’re still defining exactly where that line should be.”

And, in terms of identity verification, Vigroux says the priority in the early stages is to make onboarding as frictionless as possible. “In the beginning we want the onboarding process to be extremely fast — ideally under a minute,” he explains. “If signing up becomes complicated, many people will simply abandon the platform.”

Instead, users will initially self-declare that they are over 16 years old, with the possibility of stronger verification mechanisms introduced later as the platform evolves. Bot detection, he says, will rely primarily on technical safeguards built into the system. “My technical co-founder has developed systems to detect suspicious activity and remove bots quickly,” says Vigroux.

Building a social network with a “tiny team”

Vigroux explains that the technology behind the platform has been built entirely in-house by his co-founder, Allybokus. Rather than scaling a large internal organisation, the founders have deliberately chosen to keep the team extremely small and work with specialised external partners.

“We intentionally run a very small team — just the two of us — and rely on external partners instead of hiring large numbers of employees.”

For areas such as user acquisition, the company works with entrepreneurial agencies rather than building large internal departments.

“For example, our user acquisition campaigns on TikTok and Meta are managed by a marketing agency we trust,” he says.

“If something doesn’t work, we can simply change partners.”

Vigroux describes the approach as a deliberate operating model. “We follow what I call the ‘tiny team’ philosophy — working with specialised entrepreneurs instead of building large internal teams,” he says. The company is also preparing to reveal more about the platform’s identity. “We’ll soon unveil the platform’s full branding and design.”

Lessons from failed European social media platforms

There is a long history of entrepreneurs attempting to create alternative platforms to the US heavyweights. Historically, many have failed to gain traction. Vigroux studied previous European social media attempts and spoke with some founders whose platforms failed.

He contends:

“One of the biggest challenges they mentioned was moderation. For example, one founder told me a user began posting illegal images and they didn’t remove them quickly enough, which caused users to abandon the platform. So moderation is extremely important for us. We combine AI moderation with a small team of human moderators.

We didn’t want to replicate anything. In business, simply saying “we’re European” isn’t enough to convince people to use a platform. Our differentiator is the built-in AI fact-checking system.”

Targeting opinion-driven users leaving X

eYou arrives at a time when policymakers, regulators and citizens across Europe are increasingly concerned about disinformation, algorithmic echo chambers and the dominance of non-European tech platforms in shaping public discourse.

Last year, the founders ran a survey with 400 respondents across 35 questions, which revealed a growing appetite for platforms that go beyond photo sharing or superficial content.

According to Vigroux, many users are looking for spaces where ideas and current events can be discussed more seriously.

“Based on our focus groups and survey, we believe Europe needs an opinion-driven social platform built with European values — fighting misinformation, prioritising data privacy, and storing user data within the European Union,” he says. 

The platform is targeting people who were previously heavy Twitter users but are now leaving the platform, as well as users who spend time on Medium reading longer-form content.

Vigroux describes their ideal users as:

“People interested in discussing ideas and current events — journalists, professionals, urban and educated audiences who want something more substantive than typical social media content. We believe respected journalists with strong reputations could become early influencers on the platform.”

To spread the word, the startup is focusing on partnerships with influencers who support democracy, European identity, and data privacy, as well as running advertising campaigns on TikTok and Meta platforms to attract users.

Growth first, monetisation later

With Vigroux’s background in sales and business development, he initially had many monetisation ideas.

“But my investor and business partner told me to stop thinking about that for now — and they were right. In social media, the priority is user growth and retention. Once you have scale, monetisation becomes possible.”

eYou aims to reach 10 million users by 2030.  Jasseem Allybokus, cofounder and CEO, is a serial exited entrepreneur and former CTO of digital marketing company Visiperf.

“Most social platforms today are designed to show users more of what they already agree with,” said Allybokus.

“That reinforces echo chambers and allows misinformation to spread faster than facts. eYou introduces a radically different approach to online discussion - one built around European principles of transparency, accountability, and exposure to diverse viewpoints.

By combining a feed that encourages diverse perspectives with instant fact-checking tools, eYou users can verify claims in real time, understand the sources behind those claims, and engage in more informed conversations.”

The early investment will support eYou’s product development and early community growth ahead of public launch.

“Our motto is ‘capital for the bold,’ and eYou embodies exactly that,” said Matei Dumitrescu, partner at Fil Rouge Capital.

“The founders bring strong entrepreneurial experience, a clear vision, and they are tackling one of the most important challenges facing digital platforms today: trust. eYou has the potential to become the leading European social media player.”

As part of its pre-launch phase, eYou has opened a public waitlist ahead of its official release planned for May 2026. Users can register on the platform’s landing page to gain early access, secure their preferred username, and receive updates as the platform prepares for launch.