After reports about Bowers went viral online, Gab had a hard time finding a web host, for obvious reasons. Sibyl Systems Limited took them on as a client in November.

Lilac Kapul, an information technology expert who operates Sibyl's service, revealed to Hatewatch that given Sibyl’s service capabilities, the amount of Gab’s reported users doesn’t quite line up.

“The level/extent of infrastructure Gab is purchasing from us [is] much smaller than would be expected for a platform like theirs with over 800,000 users,” Kapul said to Hatewatch. “It’s not impossible.… However, given the modest number of servers, the nature of their site and the technology they are using, it’s unlikely.”

For example, according to Kapul, if 800,000 users were actively using Gab with their current capabilities, the site would crash.

“I would say they probably have a few thousand or a few tens of thousands... That sounds a lot more believable,” Kapul told Hatewatch.

Aside from being disengious, why does this number report matter? If they have provided false information to the SEC, that’s a big, big deal, legally speaking.

The reason Gab is submitting documents to the SEC, to begin with, is that they, well, have to. As reported by Hatewatch, Gab is using the 2012 JOBS Act to its advantage. In this case, provisions allow startups (like Gab) to sell speculative securities to private investors through stock offers and crowdfunding. But, for this to go down, Gab has to send documents for review to the SEC. If any of the information that Gab (or any other startup in this case) submitted is revealed to be false, it could lead to a cease-and-desist or federal civil lawsuit.

One thing that does seem to be true about Gab’s member numbers is that the site had a recent influx of bots. Gab actually went invite-only (meaning you have to be a paid member, known as Gab Pro, in order to invite new members) for the first time because of these bots, which apparently posted a lot of porn.

What sort of future do you think Gab, and sites like it, have in store?