Parler, the self-described "free speech social network," has seen an influx of users recently as politically conservative Americans who feel censored by the most popular platforms seek a new place to gather online.
Started in 2018, it has become the social home to controversial, far-right personalities some of whom, like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, were banned from services like Twitter.
"I think right now they feel very much like outcasts on these other platforms," said John Matze, CEO of Parler. "When they're getting kicked off, they have nowhere else to go, and so Parler is where they're coming to."
However, Matze said he doesn't think this will lead to a homogenous echo chamber for a right and right-leaning user base. He expects a more diverse audience of liberals and centrist voices to join and create "discussion, debate, and discourse."
Battle Over Pennsylvania on Parler
When it comes to dealing with election misinformation, Matze was clear that Parler had no interest in managing a top-down approach to policing its community. The CEO acknowledged that a Team Trump account on the platform announcing that the President had won the state of Pennsylvania, a state already widely called for Joe Biden, wouldn't be taken down, even though it has been removed on other platforms.
"We don't know who won it yet, technically," Matze said, but even if the race is certified and the electors officially cast their votes for Joe Biden, he stated that it would not be Parler's place to make a call to take down such a post.
"We believe in people and their ability to solve these things on their own without our heavy hand," he added while knocking Twitter and Facebook's fact-checking approach. "Whether or not we allow that content, it's not going to change what [Trump] says. It is not going to change what people think."
Parler, which considers itself "viewpoint-neutral," now sits atop the free downloads rankings on the Apple App Store, according to Sensor Tower, as well as on Google Play, following the widely-called presidential race for Democrat Joe Biden over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.
Everyone is Welcome
As for the most famous Republican Twitter user, President Trump, Parler's CEO stated that the platform would be happy to have him join.
"Of course, the president would be welcome on to Parler, and so would former Vice President Joe Biden," said Matze. "In fact, actually, Joe Biden tweeted about Parler before President Trump did — even though it wasn't in the most flattering terms."
For the time being, Trump remains on Twitter, announcing on Monday that he had fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper and posting more accusations against the voting process in multiple states.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
Catching you up on today's entertainment headlines with the Tribeca Film Festival has kicked off in NYC, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped its first full trailer, the musical "Come From Away" based on a true story set during 9/11 will be closing on Broadway this October, and more.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The Elevate Prize Foundation is donating $10,000 to different grassroots organizations based on a theme every month to help scale their work, focusing on a different theme each time. Upcoming prizes will help uplift an organization supporting the LGBTQ community and one mobilizing to help end gun violence. The foundation's CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram joined Cheddar to discuss the initiative and why it's important to uplift these grassroots organizations. "We are identifying social entrepreneurs around the world to help them scale their work. but the ultimate purpose of that is to create the first-ever fanbase for good," she said. "We're trying to make good famous and by inspiring people to think about the role they can play in doing good in the world."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tattoo artist Katrina "Kat Tat" Jackson, famous for starring in the VH1 hit series "Black Ink Crew: Chicago," is also the first Black woman to own a tattoo shop in Beverly Hills. She joined Cheddar News to discuss her trailblazing work, the stigma BIPOC tattoo artists face in the industry, and the way the space has changed for artists of color since her start. "In the beginning, I remember walking into a tattoo shop just like, hey, I wanna learn, I wanna be a tattoo artist and kind of just being laughed at, not taken seriously," she said. "Even with the tattoo conventions, a lot of African American tattoo artists were almost scared to go to conventions because it's not a welcoming environment."
