Kanye West to buy "free-speech" platform Parler

[midian182]

What just happened? Parler, the social media platform that positions itself as a non-censoring alternative to Twitter, is being bought by an unlikely purchaser: Ye, better known as Kanye West. Parent company Parlement Technologies says it has entered into an agreement in principle with the musician to acquire the "pioneering uncancelable free speech platform."

"In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves," West said in a press statement.

Parler, which you can download securely here, has rarely been away from controversy since launching in 2018. It's proved popular with conservatives and those on the right of the political spectrum who have accused Twitter and Facebook of silencing their voices on issues such as Trump and Covid-19. It even managed to attract big name users such as Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Fox News host Sean Hannity.

But following the Capitol attack on January 6 last year, Parler was banned from the Google Play and Apple App stores. Parler changed its policies and was reinstated by Cupertino a few months later, in May 2021, while Google only brought it back last month, a full 18 months after the ban.

Parler writes that West's proposed acquisition will assure the platform has a future role in creating an "uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome." CEO George Farmer has welcomed the artist as "a compatriot in the fight for free speech."

"This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again. Once again, Ye proves that he is one step ahead of the legacy media narrative. Parlement will be honored to help him achieve his goals," Farmer said in a statement.

Both parties intend to enter into a definitive purchase agreement and expect to close the deal during the fourth quarter of 2022.

West made headlines last week after Instagram restricted his account for his post showing a purported text conversation with Sean "Diddy" Combs in which West appeared to suggest Combs was controlled by Jewish people. West was also locked out of his Twitter account for tweeting, "I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE." It could be that the companies' actions prompted West to buy Parler.

West, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, is no stranger to offline controversy. He made anti-Semitic comments and talked about various conspiracy theories during unaired segments of a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson. He also wore a t-shirt sporting the words "White Lives Matter" at Paris Fashion Week.

Masthead: David Shankbone

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https://www.techspot.com/news/96340-kanye-west-buy-free-speech-platform-parler.html

 

[psycros]

God, how I long for the days before social media. History will either rightly label it one of the greatest ills of the 21st century, or if not, will be telling us we've always been at war with EastAsia.

 

[MaitieS]

Is this like the next level of capitalism? Rich people buying social media platforms...

 

[VitalyT]

It looks like the only way to have "free speech" these days is to buy your own speech platform.

Now I see where Musk is going with his Twitter acquisition.

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

Good for him. Seems like he bought the company of of his friend's husband. I don't think they will complain. Pays to have billionaire friends.

 

[emmzo]

It looks like the only way to have "free speech" these days is to buy your own speech platform.

Now I see where Musk is going with his Twitter acquisition.

Not really. They want a platform for their own interests. They will ban just as easy things they don't like. And mind you, they are basically, buying from another rich people, that don't like other stuff.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Just because you have a voice, doesn't mean it's worth hearing.

Nothing makes less sense than the people standing behind celebrities and rich politicians. You have nothing in common with them. Get over it. Vote for and stand behind people like YOU!

 

[Avro Arrow]

Welcome to capitalism where evil always wins as long as it has enough money.

 

[Nanochip]

Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences.

 

[envirovore]

F*ck Kanye.

 

[DSirius]

Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences.

This works both ways.
Twitter and Facebook will learn the hard way that censoring free speech just because they do not like it or is contrary to their interest will be their downfall. And all of these while Twitter and facebook are full of lame propaganda.

 

[Uncle Al]

As alone as I might be on this topic, I have yet to see ANY social media platform worthy of my time. I'd have to compare them to wet wipes for adults .... something unnecessary if you are doing it right.

 

[DSirius]

As alone as I might be on this topic, I have yet to see ANY social media platform worthy of my time. I'd have to compare them to wet wipes for adults .... something unnecessary if you are doing it right.

Best review of nowadays social media.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I agree with both of these. I think the point is this though...

Just because you have a voice, doesn't mean it's worth hearing.

Just because a voice isn't worth hearing to some/most, doesn't mean it's worth silencing from everyone. Besides these platforms are opt-in to hearing someone's voice (following a person), but if enough people find it worth hearing (retweeting), you can still opt out (blocking a person).

Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences.

This doesn't mean these platforms should shield individuals from being the ones to be responsible for deciding against saying something vs. saying it and facing the consequences. Twitter is effectively removing the responsibility associated with freedom of speech on its platform because it became the judge and punisher, but its power is limited (it can only remove users). This means it prevents its users from facing real consequences (since many use anonymity as a shield). Individuals also have no opportunity to either turn around or use the slack to create a noose for themselves (potentially socially and professionally).

I'm pretty sure Twitter will being adding mandatory human verification for all users (to limit bots), and this will probably establish the identities of users irl. I don't think Twitter will completely remove the ability to have an anonymous account (at least anonymous to the public) but they'll incentivize when you choose to be transparent with your identity. One way is giving everyone the ability to hide all tweets from anonymous accounts, and another would be by showing a blue checkmark next to public individual's names.

 

[Avro Arrow]

As alone as I might be on this topic, I have yet to see ANY social media platform worthy of my time. I'd have to compare them to wet wipes for adults .... something unnecessary if you are doing it right.

You're not alone. I stopped using FB years ago and I've NEVER really done much on Twitter. I only use Twitter when I want to talk to Jim from AdoredTV or Timmy Joe from Timmy Joe Tech. Beyond that, I couldn't be bothered with it.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I agree with both of these. I think the point is this though...

Just because a voice isn't worth hearing to some/most, doesn't mean it's worth silencing from everyone. Besides these platforms are opt-in to hearing someone's voice (following a person), but if enough people find it worth hearing (retweeting), you can still opt out (blocking a person).

I say that people have the right to have an opinion and I have the right to think that their opinion is guano-insane.

 

[OortCloud]

What a bellend

 

[BadThad]

It's good to see an intelligent black man fighting Hollywood! His Fox interview was filled with TRUTH about the evils of Hollywood and the pressure to "conform or be outcast".

 

[wiyosaya]

Not really. They want a platform for their own interests. They will ban just as easy things they don't like. And mind you, they are basically, buying from another rich people, that don't like other stuff.

Yes, and Truth Social does exactly the same thing.

 

[wiyosaya]

Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences.

It also does not mean being able to incite violence.

 

[wiyosaya]

This works both ways.
Twitter and Facebook will learn the hard way that censoring free speech just because they do not like it or is contrary to their interest will be their downfall. And all of these while Twitter and facebook are full of lame propaganda.

Personally I think that, all "social media" platforms that censor will learn this. A particular right-leaning web site I mentioned above censors posts also, and is also filled with lame propaganda.

 

[wiyosaya]

You're not alone. I stopped using FB years ago and I've NEVER really done much on Twitter. I only use Twitter when I want to talk to Jim from AdoredTV or Timmy Joe from Timmy Joe Tech. Beyond that, I couldn't be bothered with it.

Same here, except I never started using them, and I doubt I ever will.

 

[p51d007]

If the U.S. lazy media would stop reporting on things like tweets/fakebook posts etc, perhaps
it would start to go away.
Get sick hearing from so called journalist, that so and so said something, and is "blowing up
the internet" with likes, retweets etc.
Leave that garbage for TMZ.

 

[umbala]

It looks like the only way to have "free speech" these days is to buy your own speech platform.

Now I see where Musk is going with his Twitter acquisition.

Yes, everyone is silencing those poor poor conservatives on every platform... Yet all I see is conservatives running their mouths 24/7 on every social platform, message board (here), talk radio, Fox News, etc. For a group constantly claiming to be silenced they certainly make an unbearable amount of noise.

This never ending victim hood is getting super tiring. Oh you lost an election? Well that can't be. So it must've been rigged/stolen. Oh you can't spew your hate speech, fake news and propaganda on every platform with impunity? Well that can't be right. It must mean your free speech rights are being violated. Poor poor conservatives, everyone is constantly out to get them!

 

[umbala]

Kanye is thirsty AF. That's what this is all about. He needs never ending attention (like a certain orange clown) or he'll throw a tantrum and stink up the internet until people pay attention to him again.