By Barry Donnelly
Parler Overview
Self-described as an ” unbiased ” alternative to the major social media platforms, Parler, founded in 2018, emulates Twitter as a microblogging site. Ownership and stewardship is opaque. John Matze, co-founder and CEO states that ownership is composed of himself and “a small group of close friends and employees.” Known investors are Robert Mercer and Rebekah Mercer. The Mercer family was a principal investor in Cambridge Analytica and the Alt-right media outlet Breitbart.
In an press release, co-founder Jared Thomson stated
John and I started Parler to provide a neutral platform for free speech, as our founders intended, and also to create a social media environment that would protect data privacy. The ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords demands that someone lead the fight against data mining, and for the protection of free speech online. That someone is Parler, a beacon to all who value their liberty, free speech and personal privacy.”
While Parler makes claims of having a libertarian, free-speech focus, the user profile and content fall under the description of ‘free-extremists’ communities such as the 4Chan /pol/ group where hate speech is unmoderated. Rhetoric and imagery ( violence, misogyny, racism, anti-Semitism) that would contravene the policies of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are unmoderated on Parler and are prevalent. Though not explicitly stated, Parler caters as a platform to the far-right. Parler has been popularised by rightwing figures such as Texas senator Ted Cruz, Fox News hosts Mark Levin and Sean Hannity and Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. While Donald Trump himself has never joined; Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump are on the platform.
Owing to the crack down on disinformation and hate speech by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube, many individuals and groups that were ‘de-platformed’ have migrated to Parler. Key events that led to significant increases in Parler’s user base were Twitter’s decision to flag misinformation in Donald Trump’s tweets and the blanket ban of QAnon groups on Facebook. Immediately after the defeat of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential Election, Parler CEO John Matze stated that Parler gained two million users in one day.
Following the riots in Washington D.C. on January sixth 2021, Parler was served notice by the major technology companies Apple, Google and Amazon that they must enact more stringent moderation policies or they would no longer host downloads of the Parler app. Specifically, these moderation policies were in relation to hate speech and incitement to violence. Declining to do so, as of January 10th, Parler has been banned by all three companies .Amazon no longer hosts web services to Parler. Immediately before the ban, Parler had been the top downloaded app on the Apple App store.
Parler Timeline of Key Events
| Time Period | Event |
| 2018 | Founded by John Matze and Jared Thompson in Nevada, U.S. Within one year, Parler has a user base of 100,000. |
| 2019 | Parler’s user base grows to 200, 000, mostly users from Saudi Arabia frustrated with Twitter censorship. |
| June 2020 | · Twitter begins to label misleading tweets by Donald Trump. · Misleading content related to George Floyd Protest and Covid-19 banned by larger social media sites. Leads to migration to Parler. · Ted Cruz denounces major social media platforms and states he is “proud to join Parler”. · CEO John Matze states Parler’s user base rose from 1 million to 1.5 million in one week. |
| October 2020 | Facebook bans QAnon groups across its platform to limit the “ability of QAnon and Militarized Social Movements to operate and organize on our platform.” Mass migration of users to Parler. |
| November 3, 2020 | U.S. presidential election. |
| November 7 – 14, 2020 | ·Joe Biden is declared winner of U.S. presidential election by all major news outlets. ·Parler tops chart of Apple App store. · Registered users rise from 4.5 million to 8 million. ·Active users rise from 500,000 to 4 million. |
| January 6, 2021 | · #stormthecaptial is trending on Parler.· Riot in Washington D.C.· The Capitol building in Washington D.C. is stormed by rioters. Five people die. |
| January 7, 2021 | · Donald Trump is indefinitely banned from Facebook “at least through the end of his term.”· News media begins to observe that Parler has widespread discussion of violence and incitement to riot relating to the riot in Washington D.C. |
| January 8, 2021 | · Donald Trump is permanently suspended from Twitter. Trump tweets from @POTUS removed. “We are permanently suspending the account due to the risk of further incitement to violence.”· Apple threatens Parler with ban from App store unless it enacts more stringent moderation policy· Google removes Parler from Play store |
| January 9 ,2021 | Parler is number one on the Apple App store |
| January 10 , 2021 | · Parler is banned by Apple, Google and Amazon.· Amazon no longer supports Parler’s cloud or web service hosting. Parler is essentially deplatformed. |
References/Notes
1) “- The Washington Post.” n.d. Washington Post. Accessed January 10, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/.
2) “‘Free Speech Social Media’? Three Questions about Parler.,” December 1, 2020. https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2020/1201/Free-speech-social-media-Three-questions-about-Parler.
3) “‘Free Speech’ Social Media Platform Parler Is a Hit among Trump Supporters, but Experts Say It Won’t Last – ABC News.” n.d. Accessed January 9, 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/US/free-speech-social-media-platform-parler-hit-trump/story?id=74245251.
4) “Facebook Bans QAnon across Its Platforms.” n.d. NBC News. Accessed January 10, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-bans-qanon-across-its-platforms-n1242339.
5) “Fact-Checked on Facebook and Twitter, Conservatives Switch Their Apps.” The New York Times, November 11, 2020, sec. Technology. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/technology/parler-rumble-newsmax.html.
6) “How Some Conservatives Have Switched to Parler, Rumble and Newsmax – The New York Times.” n.d. Accessed January 9, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/technology/parler-rumble-newsmax.html.
7) “Parler: Are Conservatives Pivoting to a New Social Media App?” 2019. The Daily Dot. June 5, 2019. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/what-is-parler-free-speech-social-media-app/.
8) “Snapshot.” n.d. Accessed January 9, 2021. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-parler-conservative-social-media-20201204-abhs3nev7nhrrois5n5ghh42hm-story.html.
9) “What to Know about Parler, the Social-Media Platform That Is Now Attracting Millions of Trump Supporters – MarketWatch.” n.d. Accessed January 9, 2021. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-know-about-parler-the-social-media-platform-that-is-attracting-millions-of-trump-supporters-11606497149.
10) 2020b. “I Tried Parler, the Social Media App Where Hate Speech Thrives.” SFGATE. November 30, 2020. https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/I-tried-Parler-the-social-media-app-where-hate-15758094.php.
11) Anderson, Katie Elson. 2020. “Getting Acquainted with Social Networks and Apps: It Is Time to Talk about TikTok.” Library Hi Tech News 37 (4): 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2020-0001.
12) Astor, Maggie. 2020. “Biden and Trump Are Locked in Tight Race as Uncounted Votes Remain.” The New York Times, November 3, 2020, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/03/us/trump-biden-election.
13) BBC News. 2020. “Parler ‘free Speech’ App Tops Charts in Wake of Trump Defeat,” November 9, 2020, sec. Technology. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54873800.
14) Business, Sherisse Pham, CNN. n.d. “Twitter Says It Labels Tweets to Provide ‘Context, Not Fact-Checking.’” CNN. Accessed January 10, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/tech/twitter-enforcement-policy/index.html.
15) Christian Science Monitor. 2020a. “‘Free Speech Social Media’? Three Questions about Parler.,” December 1, 2020. https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2020/1201/Free-speech-social-media-Three-questions-about-Parler.
16) Conger, Kate, Mike Isaac, and Daisuke Wakabayashi. 2020. “Social Media Companies Survived Election Day. More Tests Loom.” The New York Times, November 4, 2020, sec. Technology. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/technology/social-media-companies-election-misinformation.html.
17) Conger, Kate, Mike Isaac, and Sheera Frenkel. 2021. “Twitter and Facebook Lock Trump’s Accounts After Violence on Capitol Hill.” The New York Times, January 6, 2021, sec. Technology. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/technology/capitol-twitter-facebook-trump.html.
18) Hartley, Kris, and Minh Khuong Vu. 2020. “Fighting Fake News in the COVID-19 Era: Policy Insights from an Equilibrium Model.” Policy Sciences 53 (4): 735–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-020-09405-z.
19) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/technology/parler-rumble-newsmax.html.
20) Isaac, Mike, and Kellen Browning. 2020a. “Fact-Checked on Facebook and Twitter, Conservatives Switch Their Apps.” The New York Times, November 11, 2020, sec. Technology.
21) Levy, Ari. 2020. “Trump Fans Are Flocking to the Social Media App Parler — Its CEO Is Begging Liberals to Join Them.” CNBC. June 27, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/27/parler-ceo-wants-liberal-to-join-the-pro-trump-crowd-on-the-app.html.
22) n.d. “What to Know about Parler, the Social-Media Platform That Is Now Attracting Millions of Trump Supporters.” MarketWatch. Accessed January 10, 2021b. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-know-about-parler-the-social-media-platform-that-is-attracting-millions-of-trump-supporters-11606497149.
23) Newhouse, Alex. n.d. “Commentary: Parler: Who Is behind This Growing Conservative Social Media Platform?” Chicagotribune.Com. Accessed January 9, 2021a. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-parler-conservative-social-media-20201204-abhs3nev7nhrrois5n5ghh42hm-story.html.
24) News, A. B. C. n.d. “‘Free Speech’ Social Media Platform Parler Is a Hit among Trump Supporters, but Experts Say It Won’t Last.” ABC News. Accessed January 9, 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/US/free-speech-social-media-platform-parler-hit-trump/story?id=74245251.
25) Parker, Bryan C. 2020a. “I Tried Parler, the Social Media App Where Hate Speech Thrives.” SFGATE. November 30, 2020. https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/I-tried-Parler-the-social-media-app-where-hate-15758094.php.
26) Paul, Elizabeth Culliford, Katie. 2019. “Unhappy with Twitter, Thousands of Saudis Join pro-Trump Social Network Parler.” Reuters, June 14, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-saudi-politics-idUSKCN1TE32S.
27) Rodriguez, Salvador. 2020. “The Four Latest Contenders to Facebook’s Social Media Throne.” CNBC. November 14, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/14/parler-tiktok-onlyfans-contend-for-facebooks-social-throne.html.
