Parler, the social media app that’s billed as a platform for free and open dialogue, said it would continue to counter “technocronyism” following Twitter’s announcement that it would be cracking down on accounts and censoring content it deems as harmful.
After Twitter released a statement Tuesday saying it would be permanently banning accounts, a spokesperson for the social media giant told NBC News that some 150,000 accounts would be affected.
“We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach … we are taking further action on so-called ‘QAnon’ activity across the service,” Twitter said last week.
QAnon, which is followed by more than 3 million people on various social media platforms, has posited that deep state elites are entrenched in such things as the occult and sex trafficking. However, many on the left and right view QAnon as a source of conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Numerous complaints have been levied against Twitter over the years for its censorship of conservatives, Christians, and pro-life groups, including the banning of ads and effectively muting accounts by shadowbanning users’ posts. Because of this, many Twitter users have opened accounts with Parler and are encouraging others to follow suit.
Parler, which has 2.7 million users, says it doesn’t “censor content based on politics or ideology,” or “mine or sell user data.” And it will “continues to stand with the people and against technocronyism.”
The app was co-founded by John Matze Jr. and Jared Thomson, both of whom studied computer science at the University of Denver, according to Fox Business. Matze is Parler’s CEO and Thomson is the company’s CTO.
On June 25, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced on Twitter that he’d joined Parler. He cited big tech’s shadowbanning and the “silencing of those with whom they disagree” as his reasons for jumping on board.
“I’m proud to join @parler_app — a platform that gets what free speech is all about — and I’m excited to be a part of it. Let’s speak. Let’s speak freely. And let’s end the Silicon Valley censorship. Follow me there,” Cruz tweeted.
Jessica Scaggs, deputy press secretary for Cruz, told The Christian Post that social media companies are threatening the future of democracy.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Blake Fussell
