Parler, the Conservative Social Media Platform, Gets Backing from Mercer Family: Report

Parler CEO John Matze who said he founded the company as a bipartisan platform has doubled down on marketing to conservatives.

By Reuters | Updated: 15 November 2020 15:12 IST

Parler, the Conservative Social Media Platform, Gets Backing from Mercer Family: Report

The company's user base more than doubled to 10 million in under a week

Highlights

Social media platform Parler was founded in 2018
It appeals largely to conservatives, especially Donald Trump supporters
The company claims its user base is now close to 10 million

Social media platform Parler, which styles itself as a "free speech-driven" space, gets funding from hedge-fund investor Robert Mercer and his daughter and conservative activist Rebekah, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. US right-wing social media users have flocked to Parler, messaging app Telegram, and hands-off social site Gab, citing the more aggressive policing of political comments on mainstream platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

Parler Chief Executive Officer John Matze, who describes himself as libertarian, has said he founded the company in 2018 as a bipartisan platform but has doubled down on marketing to conservatives as they took to the site. Those who have joined include commentator Candace Owens, President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who handcuffed herself to the door of Twitter's New York office in November 2018 to protest a ban on her by the site.

"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," Rebekah said in a post on Parler. "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," she added

The company's user base more than doubled to 10 million in under a week, making it difficult for its roughly 30-person staff to keep up with the new sign-ups, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Will Xbox Series S, PS5 Digital Edition fail in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.