So many people in this discussion talking about how this isn't a true alternative to PGP while ignoring the fact that gnupg and all other PGP software are a giant usability trainwreck.
The PGP web of trust is as good as dead, and denialism around the usability issues in gnupg is mostly to blame. If we want people to use a decentralized web of trust solution going forward, it's time to accept the fact that we'll need a new set of clients and usability/accessibility standards.
I don't think the thing you are referring to ever actually existed. Just like in real life you would trust someone just because someone you trusted trusted them. This is a common strawman and does not represent some sort of weakness in the relatively straightforward certifications provided by stuff that supports OpenPGP.
Of course I would trust someone if someone I trusted trusted them - subject to some obvious limitations. That is the essence of a social network. A cryptographic representation of that network is a profoundly powerful concept. But OpenPGP/gnupg are bad tools to represent it.
The PGP web of trust is as good as dead, and denialism around the usability issues in gnupg is mostly to blame. If we want people to use a decentralized web of trust solution going forward, it's time to accept the fact that we'll need a new set of clients and usability/accessibility standards.