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.
A survey by the BMO Real Financial Progress Index found that 25 percent of Americans are pulling back on retirement contributions to offset the cost of inflation. This comes as market volatility reduced retirement savings with the S&P 500 shedding more than 12 percent this year alone.
Catching you up on entertainment headlines with Johnny Depp winning more damages in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith addressing the infamous Oscars slap that her husband Will Smith laid on Chris Rock, Queen Elizabeth II celebrating her platinum jubilee on the throne, and more.
Eric Cervini, executive producer of 'The Book of Queer,' joins Cheddar News to talk about the new show on Discovery+ that's celebrating LGBTQ+ history.
New York drag queen DD Fuego, joined Cheddar News to discuss her journey to drag, sharing the coloring book "Find Your Fuego" to explain to kids and adults alike what drag is all about, and describing the Big Apple scene. "It's incredible because you're meeting people for the first time, and you're also sharing a piece of you, and they're sharing with you back, and it's instant, and it's so intimate, but it's also art," she said. "It's theater!" In celebrating this spirit, Cheddar employee Shannon also received a "fantastic" makeover from DD Fuego.
Memorial Day rang in the unofficial start of summer here in the United States -- and with it, the unofficial start of summer travel. Whether consumers traveled by air or by land, they probably experienced some form of frustration over the weekend. Flyers faced delays and cancellations, and drivers faced the most expensive gas prices ever recorded on Memorial Day. Zach Griff, Senior Aviation Reporter for the Points Guy, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Next-generation gaming ecosystem Joystick recently raised $8 million in a seed round and is in the process of raising a $110 million Series A funding round. Gaming ecosystems are a relatively new type of platform in the Web3 space, allowing users to maximize their play-to-earn gaming opportunities, exchange crypto-currencies, and sell their digital assets. Joystick says its platform is flipping the current model on its head by giving players the opportunity to keep 100% of the revenue they earn. Robin Defay, co-founder and CEO of Joystick, and Michael Le, co-founder of Joystick and TikTok content creator, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The dating app Bumble has sponsored bills and pushed lawmakers to criminalize the online practice of sending unsolicited nudes or “cyberflashing." Payton Iheme, Bumble's head of public policy for the Americas, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the app was going after the harassing behavior beyond its own platform. "Now, while we went to work internally in the company, and we created something called private detector to automatically blur those images so the user can decide if they want to see them, there's nothing for the rest of the internet," she said. "And so that's why we went to work with these laws."
