As state governments seek to restrict children’s access to social media and various courts debate what free speech looks like in the digital age, a social media platform is making its second attempt at branding. The Parler app, which was closed in April 2023 after being sold to its new owner, has had a difficult history since its launch in 2018. Before it was shut down, the app was banned from app stores in 2021 for allegedly helping organize the app. January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
Now, ahead of the 2024 elections, the Parler app, which was resold in late 2023, has been reactivated on Apple’s App Store as part of an invitation-only app. Although not yet publicly available, the timing of the attempted rebranding of the app raises questions for some extremist experts.
Jon Lewis, a research associate at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, spoke to Yahoo News about whether Parler can separate itself from its past as it tries to rebrand itself. Lewis said he doesn’t see a future where Parler’s reputation won’t precede it, which will likely make it harder for the app to attract a new user base.
“When my liberal Facebook family sees that Parler is available in the App Store again, they can’t wait to get to it,” Lewis said. “[Parler’s] “Those who think that the election will be interfered with and stolen this year will continue to remain in the core membership.”
Parler has always marketed itself as a social media platform that stands out from mainstream alternatives like X and Facebook, especially when it comes to content moderation, or lack thereof. But Parler’s content policies, which were what attracted viewers in the first place, were ultimately undone after it was allegedly used to plan the attack on the Capitol. With this new rebrand, will the app be able to shake off its problematic past?
“Parler’s goal is to provide a platform where users can express themselves freely without fear of censorship or discrimination,” a Parler spokesperson told Yahoo News. “Parler 3.0 focuses on encouraging constructive conversations and positive engagement among users.”
A Parler spokesperson did not give Yahoo News an exact date for when the app would be available to the public. The app has not yet returned to the Google Play store. Neither Apple nor Google responded to Yahoo News’ request for comment.
Let’s go back to the beginning. What was the purpose of starting Parler in 2018?
Parler first launched in 2018 and was promoted as a “free speech” social media platform where posts would not be moderated. The promise of zero moderation has attracted users who were previously banned from other platforms such as X, known as Twitter, and Facebook.
Conservative leaders like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul have touted Parler as “a platform” [that] “He understands what freedom of expression means.”
I am proud to participate @parler_app — a platform that understands what free expression means — and I’m excited to be a part of it. Come on, talk. Let’s talk freely. And let’s end Silicon Valley censorship. follow me there @tedcruz! pic.twitter.com/pzUFvhipBZ
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) 25 June 2020
Rebekah Mercer, an early investor in the app and the daughter of hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, a major donor to former President Donald Trump and Breitbart News, said she agrees with original Parler CEO John Matze’s mission to “provide a neutral platform.” Freedom of expression, away from “the ever-increasing cruelty and arrogance of our technological overlords.”
The app exploded in popularity in 2019 and 2020 as Republicans accused social media platforms like Facebook of “disproportionately cracking down.”[ing] and censorship[ing] conservative views online.
A Wall Street Journal article reported that Parler’s user base more than doubled to 10 million users in less than a week in 2020. Allegedly, a supportive tweet from conservative activist Candace Owens alone encouraged 40,000 new users to sign up.
Why was Parler initially banned from app stores?
In January 2021, days after the Capitol riot and after President Donald Trump was banned from many social media platforms, Parler was reportedly the most downloaded app from Apple’s App Store in the US
Amazon, which hosts Parler on Amazon Web Services, told the app on January 9, 2021 that it would suspend services to the app after receiving reports of a “steady increase of this violent content” on the platform.
Amazon was referring to allegations that Parler was used to coordinate the insurrection at the Capitol. Following the attack, the app is now flooded with death threats, celebrations of violence and other posts encouraging “patriots” to bring guns to Washington, D.C., the day before President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
CNN reported at the time that the app was dominated by “accounts with swastikas in their profile pictures and disgusting racist posts.” ProPublica found more than 500 videos uploaded to Parler at the time of the attack; some of them even from inside the Capitol building.
While the second version of the Parler app was reactivated on the Google Play app store and Apple’s App Store in September 2022, the app has been offline since April 2023 after it was acquired from its original owners by marketing firm Starboard for an undisclosed amount. . Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was also in talks to purchase the company in late 2022.
Despite its similarities to Truth Social – Trump’s response to being banned from Facebook and does not believe it is a job “not anymore.”
Instead, Starboard said it will leverage Parler’s assets, such as its user base, to help its other existing businesses.
How will things be different this time?
Today, the Parler app is owned by former Parler executive Elise Pierotti, as well as Ryan Rhodes and Jaco Booyens, who purchased the app for an undisclosed sum in December.
While the goal is to “preserve the values of free expression and open dialogue,” a Parler spokesperson told Yahoo News that it will now take “measures for reasonable content moderation and community guidelines to prevent abuse of the platform.”
“Certain types of content are strictly prohibited on our platform, including illegal activity, violence, harassment, and threats,” the spokesperson told Yahoo News. “Any breach of these guidelines will be dealt with immediately through appropriate enforcement measures.”
Pierotti told NBC News in December that Parler would have its own servers in the U.S. to avoid relying on Amazon Web Services again.
Pierotti also noted that X, now owned by Elon Musk, is still available in app stores despite the platform’s own relaxation of speech rules and moderation. In November 2023, numerous advertisers expressed concerns about their ads appearing alongside pro-Nazi content and hate speech on X.
“I’m one of those people who believe that hate speech is different for different people,” Pierotti told NBC. “I am not the arbiter of truth.”
“This right-wing ecosystem has no idea what free speech really means,” extremism expert Lewis told Yahoo News in response to Pierotti’s statement to NBC.
“They think that freedom of speech means that they have an unrestricted, unrestricted right to publish whatever they want on any platform and they can’t suffer the consequences because we have the First Amendment,” Lewis said. “None of these platforms have any obligation to allow their space to be used for threatening, dehumanizing or conspiracy-spreading purposes. A lot of them still do, because most of these platforms either don’t care or want to do the bare minimum.”
Does Parler have a place in the current social media landscape?
“Certainly from my perspective the biggest question is, do you need Parler when you have X right now?” Lewis asked. “I think the complete collapse of Twitter as a regulated social media platform has certainly allowed the congregating of many disgruntled, frustrated Parler members looking for a new cesspit to swim in.”
Lewis argues that the conditions that made Parler popular in 2020 have changed dramatically.
“[Parler] “He’s definitely going to try to get back to that kind of old glory,” Lewis explained, detailing that “former glory” is about being the go-to platform for right-wing conspiracy theorists. “[But] Today, [conspiracy theorists] “I see Twitter as the easiest and most widespread place to get them the most engagement and the most reach.”
There’s also former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social, as well as 4chan, an anonymous message board platform with an infamous “politically incorrect” section that counts Tucker Carlson as a fan.
The way the public holds social media platforms accountable has also changed since 2020. On March 19, a New York judge issued a historic ruling to allow families of victims of the 2022 Buffalo, NY mass shootings to prove how social media sites can be held accountable.
A Parler representative told Yahoo News that “a number of new features” will be available to “differentiate us from other platforms over the next year.” However, it is not yet known whether and how the new Parler plans to prevent its users from promoting hateful or violent content.