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The app, which used to draw millions of Trump supporters, is set to relaunch as he runs for president again — but it won’t try to compete with Truth Social.
By Chris Cameron
Parler, the social media platform popular with right-wing audiences that ditched app outlets after making calls for violence around Jan. 6, 2021, will relaunch early next year, the company’s new owners announced Monday.
“We are committed to getting Parler back online,” Ryan Rhodes, Parler’s new chief executive, said in a statement. The app shut down in April after being purchased through Starboard, a virtual media company.
Mr. Rhodes and Elise Pierotti, who was previously the company’s chief marketing officer purchased the company last week, Ms. Pierotti said.
Parler, which billed itself as a platform for “irrevocable, relaxed speech,” attracted millions of followers of former President Donald J. Trump and was once the most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store. But tech corporations withdrew their interest in the platform a short time later. the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol, saying the company wasn’t doing enough to rein in posts that incited violence or crime.
Apple and Google banned the app from their app stores, and Amazon booted the company from its web-hosting service. Effectively banned from app stores on virtually all of the world’s smartphones, the platform then struggled to maintain its user base. It was later reinstated in both the Apple and Google app stores.
Now, the app is about to get back up and running, as Trump runs for president for a third time. The relaunch is scheduled for February.
Mr. Rhodes said that Parler’s new management would take measures to keep “harmful content like terrorism, child porn and trafficking off our platform.”
Rhodes added that the most recent edition of the platform would not aim to compete with Truth Social, the conservative social media corporation introduced through Rhodes. This has ruled the conservative area of social media in Parler’s absence, squeezing rival platforms like Gab, Gettr, MeWe, and Mentes.
Parler said in a statement that it would focus on “returning to its roots as a physically powerful marketplace of ideas. “
The embattled social media platform made headlines last year when a deal to buy Kanye West, the rapper criticized for his anti-Semitic comments, came to light shortly after its announcement.
On Monday, Ms. Pierotti listed a third component, Jaco Booyens, as a co-owner of the newest version of Parler. After the initial publication of this article, Ms. Pierotti stated that she had been mistaken and claimed that Mr. Booyens was “simply a member of the team as the lead strategy officer. “
Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.
Chris Cameron covers politics for The Times, focusing on the breakout and the 2024 campaign. Learn more about Chris Cameron
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