big tech must not censor the voices of the american people censor what you
say and think twitter,
which will just randomly silence somebody a week after they tweet something amid the
debate over free speech on the internet.
Alternative social media apps have surged in popularity.
Truth Social.
The twitter like platform launched by former President donald trump was the most downloaded free iphone
app earlier this year.
Now Kanye West who goes by you maybe in the mix with the deal to buy the social
media network parlor.
This comes after twitter banned him and um it Adidas and Gap parting ways with the rapper following
weeks of erratic behavior and anti Semitic comments.
So what could West's involvement mean for the site?
And how does it fit into this growing universe of alternative social media.
Launched in 2018 parlor attracted millions of users by pitching itself as a free
speech twitter,
alternative prominent conservative donor Rebecca.
Mercer is among the company's financial backers,
according to parlors,
former ceo john mattes,
this platform and others like it tend to attract people who want to speak their
minds very freely and may post content that's considered offensive language
that wouldn't be allowed on on more mainstream platforms.
Several of its users have been banned by other large social networks.
This includes Alex jones,
a far right talk show host and conspiracy theorist as well as supporters of the proud boys.
The group that helped lead the january 6th attack on the U.
S.
Capitol In early 2021 Apple amazon and google kicked parler off their app
stores after the site hosted calls for violence Around the time of the January six riot at the
Capitol essentially parlor was knocked off the Internet so it was not
operating as an app and it wasn't operating as a website either.
Apple and Google later restored the site to their app stores,
but parlor has struggled to maintain a large user base since in october the sites
parent company Parliament Technologies said it agreed to a deal in principle with West to buy the
platform for undisclosed terms.
This happened shortly after Mr West was locked out of twitter and instagram for posting anti
Semitic content in owning his own social media platform.
He would have the freedom to post the kind of content that might not
be allowed on other platforms.
West could not immediately be reached for comment,
but in a press statement disclosed by Parliament Technologies,
he said in a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial,
we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves.
Parlor is just one of the social media networks that have emerged with promises of looser moderation
policies.
Sites like bit shoot and Gab also built themselves as havens for free speech and
alternatives to mainstream media.
They came to be as a way to give users the opportunity to speak
more freely.
On the other hand,
that sometimes means allowing people to post content that large groups of people might find
offensive that might be considered anti Semitic or just
racist.
Some of these alternative social media sites have also become hotbeds for conspiracy theories and
misinformation,
according to audits of the websites from the Pew Research Center.
Social media apps like Gab a chan parler
have come under fire for allowing their users to post content that's been considered
offensive or harmful,
dangerous inciting violence.
The founder of a chan could not be reached for comment.
A spokesperson for parler said conspiracy theory and misinformation are terms
used to undercut those platforms daring to remind people that they have the right to speak freely
in a statement it should said,
can freedom be real when your silence is required and added that it supports West
Gab,
another alternative to facebook and twitter was linked to a 2018 mass shooting at a
Pittsburgh synagogue.
The shooter had a history of posting anti Semitic speech on the platform.
Gab Ceo said the platform cooperates with law enforcement to ensure that anyone who would abuse our
site,
harm anyone or make terroristic threats is brought to justice.
The law says that social media companies aren't responsible for the
content.
Its users post.
Some of these platforms are also increasingly backed by prominent conservatives.
Former President Donald trump launched his own social network called Truth Social after
twitter barred him from the platform Following the january 6th attack at the capitol google recently
approved truth social for distribution in its mobile app store opening a new potential customer
base for the startup app.
In 2021.
The alternative video platform rumble said it was expecting an investment from a group of prominent
conservative venture capitalists.
This included peter thiel and hillbilly.
Elegy,
author J.
D.
Vance and Elon musk,
The world's wealthiest person recently completed his takeover of twitter with plans to loosen
its moderation controls.
At a ted conference in april,
he said,
well,
I think it's very important for uh,
that would be and inclusive arena for free
speech looking ahead for West.
The parlor deal is expected to close later this year.
In a press statement parler Ceo said the acquisition would change the way the world thinks about
free speech.
Despite high profile backers data suggests that the alternative social platforms have
struggled to gain traction with a wide audience in september part said it had more than
16 million registered users.
By comparison,
twitter has more than 230 million users on the platform each day.
Meanwhile,
a recent study by the Pew Research Center found that fewer than one in 10 americans read alternative
social media sites for news.
The study also found that 15% of prominent accounts on alternative social media sites have
been banned or demonetized elsewhere on the internet,
while most alternative social media apps don't have as many users as more established
companies collectively,
they have begun to shape a new environment for some conservative voices