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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: American rapper Kanye West’s image is seen on a smartphone in entrance of the emblem of social media app Parler on this Illustration taken, October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photograph
By Josie Kao
(Reuters) – U.S. rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, has agreed in precept to purchase social media platform Parler, which is well-liked amongst U.S. conservatives, the app’s guardian firm stated on Monday.
Ye’s provide comes after the artist was locked out of his Twitter and Instagram accounts this month for making posts that on-line customers condemned as anti-Semitic.
Here’s what you might want to know in regards to the social media platform.
WHAT IS PARLER?
Parler was based in 2018 as a self-styled free speech platform. Its hands-off strategy to content material moderation has made it well-liked amongst U.S. conservatives who disagree with content material limits on social media websites like Fb (NASDAQ:) and Twitter.
Nonetheless, Parler’s much less stringent guidelines have gotten it into hassle with tech giants. After the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:). and Alphabet (NASDAQ:)’s Google took Parler off their app shops, saying the corporate had not taken satisfactory measures to forestall posts inciting violence. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) additionally quickly stopped internet hosting the platform, successfully taking it offline.
Apple and Google have each allowed Parler again on their platforms after the app undertook content material moderation measures, together with options to dam abusive customers and take away content material that would incite violence.
WHY IS KANYE WEST BUYING PARLER?
Ye’s provide to purchase Parler is available in response to his suspension from bigger platforms. He believes Parler is a spot for individuals like him who can not categorical themselves on different websites, Ye informed Bloomberg.
“In a world the place conservative opinions are thought-about to be controversial we’ve to verify we’ve the fitting to freely categorical ourselves,” stated Ye in an announcement.
Ye’s transfer comes as others together with Trump and Tesla (NASDAQ:) CEO Elon Musk have turned to social media possession to fight censorship on distinguished social media networks. Musk is in negotiations to purchase Twitter and Trump began his personal community referred to as Fact Social.
WHO OWNS PARLER?
Parler is owned by Parlement Applied sciences Inc, created final month as half of a bigger overhaul to give attention to clients who threat being pushed off the web.
Parlement’s CEO is George Farmer, an lively monetary supporter of Britain’s Brexit Social gathering. Farmer can be married to Candace Owens, a distinguished conservative commentator and Trump ally.
WHAT IS PARLER WORTH AND WHEN WILL THE DEAL CLOSE?
Parler didn’t give a deal worth, however the Nashville-based firm has raised about $56 million to this point. It expects the deal to shut in the course of the fourth quarter of 2022.
Farmer declined to touch upon whether or not the deal features a break-up charge if both occasion terminates it.
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