Difference between revisions of "Parler"

Revision as of 18:03, February 15, 2021

Parler is an American social networking service and alternative to Twitter. Its name is the French word for "to speak" (and is pronounced like "parlor"). It was founded in 2018 and based in Henderson, Nevada by John Matze and Jared Thomson.^[1] The site is populated with a majority of right-leaning users, although all are welcome. Famous users include Candace Owens, Laura Loomer, Mike Lee, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Roger Stone. In June of 2020, Parler gained many users, and more celebrities including Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Dan Bongino, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. Parler currently has around 1,000,000 users.

Parler, like fellow social networking service Gab, does not engage in censorship against other opinions. Because of this, Parler has been unfairly attacked by the anti-free speech Mainstream Media and Wikipedia as "far-right" and "anti-Islam", despite having over 200,000 Arabic users currently online.^[2] Unfortunately, to sign up for a Parler account, a mobile phone number is needed when registering, which effectively blocks those who do not have cell phones from obtaining an account.

Hate speech is not a bannable offense on Parler according to its company's CEO, John Matze.^[3]

Parler Ban From Amazon, Apple and Google

Recently in a leftwing fascist assault on free speech, the First Amendment, and human rights, Parler was banned by Apple, Inc., Google and Amazon.com.^[4]

Change of leadership

On 29 January 2021, John Matze, the first CEO of Parler, lost his position at the company. Allegations have surfaced that the organization of former President Donald J. Trump received an offer from Parler of a 40 percent stake in the company, in return for Trump opening a verified account with Parler. John Matze opposed this, fearing that Trump would take the company over by the force of his personality.^[5]

Shortly after his leavetaking, Matze released a personal statement saying the company's Board did not agree with him on a vision for a platform dedicated to freedom of speech and "more product stability." Dan Bongino, who owns a twenty-percent stake, hotly disputed Matze's claims and version of events. Bongino has not, thus far, responded directly to the specific allegation that an attempt by the Trump organization to obtain a 40 percent stake occasioned the rupture between Matze and the board.

Rebekah Mercer, daughter of financier Robert Mercer, in fact holds the controlling vote. Dan Bongino holds twenty percent of the company. A third owner, to whom Dan Bongino refers without naming, holds the remaining stake, however large it might be.

Parler returns

On 15 February 2021, on or about midnight EST, Parler returned to full functionality.^[6] Parler sits on a cluster of fully dedicated servers that either the company controls exclusively, or another unidentified host provides. Parler had earlier reached out to Epik, which offers Web hosting and domain registration and is better known as the host of another social network, called Gab. Epik has never confirmed or denied being Parler's new host.

Mark Meckler now holds the post of Interim CEO, while Parler searches for a permanent CEO.

References

External Links

• Parler official site [1]
• Epik official site [2]