Kanye West to buy social media platform Parler

The acquisition comes after Kanye West was blocked on Twitter and Instagram last week over antisemitic posts on both social networks.

HILLARY ESSIEN • October 17, 2022

Kanye West and Parler

Kanye West, now known as Ye, has offered to buy conservative social media network Parler after getting deplatformed on Twitter and Instagram for antisemitic posts.

On Monday, Parlement Technologies, which owns the platform, and Mr West, said in a statement the acquisition should be completed in the fourth quarter, but the price of the deal was not disclosed.

“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” Mr West said.

Parlement Technologies said the agreement includes the use of private cloud services via Parlement’s private cloud and data centre infrastructure.

“The terms of the proposed transaction would include ongoing technical support from Parlement and the use of private cloud services via Parlement’s private cloud and data centre infrastructure,” the statement said.

Parler, which launched in August 2018, didn’t start picking up steam until 2020. The company pushed against censorship and presented itself as a “free speech” social network with fewer content rules than Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. The app was taken offline in the wake of the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol building.

“This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech,” Parlement Technologies CEO George Farmer said.

Mr West was blocked from posting on Twitter and Instagram last week over antisemitic posts that both social networks said violated their policies.

Mr West wrote on Instagram that Sean Combs, rapper P. Diddy, was being controlled by Jewish people. His account was restricted by Instagram that day.

On Twitter, Mr West lashed out against Jewish people in a series of tweets. He tweeted that he would soon go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” in reference to the United States’ defence readiness condition, known as Def. Con. This tweet has since been deleted.

Mr West faced backlash earlier this month, after wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his collection show at Paris Fashion Week.

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