The Parler social media app in Apple’s App Store before it was banned.
Stephen Shankland / CNET
Parler offered the Trump organization a 40% stake in the company if Donald Trump commented exclusively on the conservative social network, Buzzfeed News reported Friday. Negotiations began last summer and were revived in November after Trump lost the presidential election.
In June 2020, members of Trump’s campaign met with Parler’s senior management, Buzzfeed reported, but the White House legal adviser stopped the talks. When talks resumed, Parler suggested that Trump should post to Parler four hours before he was posted to other social networks. Trump was not part of the negotiations, Buzzfeed reports, and no agreement has been reached.
Parler has been effectively shut down since January, when Apple and Google banned the app due to content moderation. It was later taken offline when Amazon stopped offering the service. Parler CEO John Matze was sacked this week.
Parler has attracted activity from right-wing commentators, including some who have been banned from Twitter and Facebook. Before being taken offline, Parler described himself as “unbiased social media.”
Trump’s presidency has put social media in the spotlight. He had millions of followers on Facebook and Twitter, and used the services to post comments, official announcements and unfounded allegations that the election had been stolen from him. After the uprising on January 6, when a crowd of Trump supporters broke into the Capitol, Facebook blocked Trump indefinitely and Twitter permanently banned his account.
Parler, the Trump campaign, and the Trump organization, which oversees Trump’s business interests, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.