Service to Parler, an unfiltered social media site favored by conservatives, was partially restored on Sunday, a week after the site went offline after Amazon refused to keep the site on its servers.
Although the social media features of the site do not seem to be functional, the visitors to the site are now greeted by a message from John Matze, CEO of Parler.
“Now seems like the right time to remind you all – lovers as well as haters – why we started this platform. We believe that privacy is paramount and that freedom of speech is essential, especially on social media. We goal has always been to provide a non-party public square where individuals can enjoy and exercise their rights to both, “reads the message, dated January 16.” We will solve any challenge before us and plan to get you all back soon. to welcome. We will not ruin the civil conversation! “
According to CNN, it appears that the site is now hosted by Epik – a company that also hosts sites such as the messaging service Gab and the right-wing forum 8chan. Both sites generated and facilitated the dissemination of white supremacist views and conspiracy theories, such as QAnon.
In recent months, right-wing conservatives have flocked to Parler after claiming that traditional social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have gone too far in censoring users. Parler called himself the ‘social speech network’.
However, Parler also attracted conspiracy theorists and violent actors to the platform. Several reports outlined how Parler users planned aspects of the January 6 attack on the platform.
BuzzFeed also reports that Parler users celebrated the January 6 riots in the days after Trump supporters trampled on the Capitol, and that some encouraged another rally in Washington for the day before Biden’s inauguration.
Matze said it was contrary to Parler’s community guidelines to “incite or threaten violence (or), or other activities that violate the law.” Amazon is just the latest company that has taken steps to deplate the social media site.
Last weekend, both Apple and Google made the site’s mobile app unavailable for download on the platforms.
In 2019, weeks after a mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue in which 11 people were killed, Amazon Gab – a social media app favored by right-wing conservatives – launched after an investigation revealed the shooter had anti-Semitic actions posted on the website.