Does anyone remember the social media website, Parler? Following the 2022 election, the field of popular social media sites was filled with “fact checkers.” Pro-Trump or Anti-vaxxing information was axed and officially off-limits on most sites.
Free speech in America was on the chopping block. Heads of social media were called before a weak, feeble congressional committee. Yet the liberal no-free-speech wall stood firm. Something had to be done.
In 2018 along comes Parler, a conservative oasis in a desert of anti-Trump, woke professors, free speech zones, nationwide demonstrations, Covid-19, and critical race theory. Parler was the answer where those with free thought could finally release ideas and opinions, and the only fact-checkers were the readers.
Despite its best efforts, Parler never rose to anything close to the social media giants, but the devoted fans stayed on. In 2023 Parler hosted 20 million users registered on the site, with daily traffic at 40,000 users.
They’re smaller in numbers but significant in opposition to the censoring of the major players.
Hopes of a Parlor comeback were dashed with the announcement that Parlor had been sold to Starboard, a digital media company initially known as Olympic Media.
Starboard CEO Ryan Coyne was attracted to Parlor, saying it was an enormous opportunity to enhance their publishing and media business but felt a conservative-only platform would not succeed. Starboard plans to Increase its market share by combining the Parler audience across its many outlets.
Parler will be pulled down, evaluated, and redesigned by Starboard’s technology staff. When or if it will be back is not known at this time.
Parler was originally slated to be sold to millionaire rapper Kanye West who’s now known as Ye. Parler and Ye had a tentative agreement and possible sale in November 2022, but the deal never came to fruition.
At this moment, the future of Parler is both unknown and uncertain. According to Coyne, the new owner, it will not return as a conservative-leaning social media platform which will be a disappointment to its loyal followers.
