‘Free speech social media’? Three questions about Parler.

Trust in Silicon Valley is low, with seven out of 10 Americans believing social media companies censor political viewpoints. Efforts by Twitter and Facebook to stem misinformation have inspired some conservative users to seek an alternative.

Launched in 2018, social media platform Parler markets itself as “the world’s premier free speech platform.” It first made headlines as a refuge for conservative provocateurs who had been banned from Twitter for violating that company’s terms of service. Now, in the wake of the election, millions of new users have joined Parler, pushing it to the top of the App Store charts and further into the mainstream.

Q: How does Parler work?
From a user experience, the platform mirrors Twitter, just with different lingo. In the same way you would retweet or like a tweet, users can “echo” or “upvote” a “parley.” Posts can include up to 1,000 characters, as well as images, gifs, or videos. To access certain features like direct messaging, you need to provide proof of identification.

Although Parler calls itself “unbiased social media,” and CEO John Matze says the site was never meant to become a conservative bastion, endorsements from figures such as Senator Ted Cruz and Fox News host Sean Hannity have raised the company’s profile as a viable right-wing challenger to Twitter. The Wall Street Journal reported that heiress Rebekah Mercer – whose family has backed other companies such as Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that worked on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign – is bankrolling the project. The company does not currently accept advertising.

Audrey Courty, a Ph.D. candidate studying social media and political extremism at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, says it makes sense that Parler would embrace the surge in popularity regardless of the founder’s intent. “At the end of the day, Parler is a business,” she says. “It’s not in their interest to just be a niche platform, but at the moment, it’s a very good strategy to get yourself off the ground."