Parler sold and shut down, conservative social media in trouble

Editors‘ Note:
This article was compiled and written by OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus and reviewed by the human editors of Eat News.

Parler, a self-proclaimed unbiased social media platform, is set to undergo a strategic assessment as it is being sold to digital media company Starboard. The platform, which has been favored by far-right conservatives, will be temporarily shut down ahead of a planned relaunch. Parlement Technologies, Parler’s parent company, agreed to the sale for an undisclosed amount with the deal expected to be finalized by the end of Q2, 2023.

Starboard has suggested that Parlement made the right move in pivoting to cloud services last year. The company stated that “No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more.” However, it believes that the platform could serve marginalized or censored communities and potentially focus on appeal beyond domestic politics while benefiting from the user base Parler has accrued.

While neither company has explicitly stated that the social media network would immediately cease its current operations, the website is currently inaccessible due to the acquisition statement issued by Starboard. The iOS app for Parler is also throwing up 404 errors when attempting to sign up for an account. The statement notes that “the Parler app as it is currently constituted will be pulled down from operation.” Starboard has not disclosed when it plans to relaunch the service.

Parler has faced numerous controversies since its founding in 2018, favored by far-right conservatives for its promises to promote “free speech.” The platform was allegedly among those used to plan the January 6th insurrection and was pulled by multiple services such as Google Play, Amazon Web Services, and the Apple App Store over concerns about the largely unmoderated violent content being posted to the platform. Parler had attempted (and failed) to sue Amazon for shutting down its services, arguing that doing so would be like “pulling the plug on a hospital patient on life support.”

Other social media networks similarly aligned with conservative views have also struggled to maintain their audiences. Former President Donald Trump’s platform, Truth Social, faces ongoing financial and legal woes as it attempts to lure in new users. Meanwhile, Gettr has struggled financially and laid off staff following a billion-dollar fraud investigation into Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, one of the platform’s original investors.

Parlement Technologies has previously attempted to sell Parler to prevent its reputation from affecting further business interests. In October last year, Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, entered an agreement to purchase the platform. However, the deal was “mutually agreed” to be terminated on December 1st, the same day that West praised Hitler and Nazis on a show hosted by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, appearing alongside white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Parler has since laid off around 75% of its employees in January, including a majority of the company’s executives.

Overall, the sale of Parler to Starboard and its temporary shutdown for strategic assessment could potentially lead to a revamped platform that serves marginalized communities beyond domestic politics. However, given Parler’s controversial past, it remains to be seen whether the platform will be able to regain its popularity and reputation.