Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, broke the internet again on Monday morning, with a bombshell announcement that nobody saw coming.
According to its own Twitter page, Parlement Technologies, which runs the right-leaning Parler social media platform that rose to stardom after former President Donald Trump was kicked off of Twitter, has agreed in principle to a buyout deal with the billionaire, award-winning rapper, and fashion designer.
Parler CEO George Farmer released a short statement to confirm the groundbreaking deal.
“This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again.” #parler #uncancelable
Parlement Technologies is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement in principle for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, to acquire the Parler platform. The acquisition ensures Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome. pic.twitter.com/KXdhV71prl
— Parler (@parler_app) October 17, 2022
The deal was announced on the same day West joined Parler. In a PR statement, he explained why he feels it necessary to go all-in and acquire the platform.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves.”
The statement added: “The proposed acquisition will assure Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome. Ye can be found on Parler here.”
The only details, so far, regarding the terms of the proposed deal are:
Under the terms of their agreement in principle, the parties intend to enter into a definitive purchase agreement and expect to close during the fourth quarter of 2022. 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 center infrastructure.
West’s announcement, likely uncoincidentally, came on the heels of a fresh social media suspension from Twitter and Instagram. The Big Tech platforms zapped him last week after reportedly violating their terms and services regarding hate speech after some of West’s posts were said to be antisemitic.
Spokespersons for Twitter and Instagram parent Meta said Sunday that Ye posted messages that violated their policies.
In a tweet sent late Saturday, Ye said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records. That’s an apparent reference to the U.S. military readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.
In the same tweet, which was removed by Twitter, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
News of West’s intention to purchase Parler could breathe new life into the platform that once became the talk of the town after Twitter and Big Tech in general began a heavy-handed censorship campaign against certain influential political voices. At its peak, Parler, which prided itself on being a truly “free speech” platform, was pulling in over 1 million downloads daily.
The influx of users and the unintended consequences of letting everyone say and post whatever they wanted caused immediate tension with major app stores like Google Play. The app was eventually canceled nearly everywhere, including on Amazon’s AWS cloud system, sending it to the proverbial tech ash heap. After a new CEO and other internal shake-ups, Parler underwent a significant transformation and was eventually allowed back on the Google Play store earlier this year.
West has clearly become sick and tired of being censored for his often controversial posts. Instead of remaining powerless, he decided to acquire his own platform where he’ll never be canceled, and for that, he should be applauded. Having an estimated net worth of $6.6 billion allows him the tools and resources to take matters into his own hands.
One can only imagine what the social media landscape will look like in 2023 and beyond. With Elon Musk likely acquiring Twitter, former President Donald Trump’s massively successful Truth Social, and with West at the helm of Parler, it certainly feels like the tides are turning for those on the right who’ve been silenced and censored for far too long.
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