Kanye West Acquiring Conservative Social Media App Parler
Kanye West has pivoted hard into antisemitism in recent weeks, which has gotten him restricted on Instagram and locked out of Twitter for posts that violated those platforms’ terms of service.
Now, as NBC News reports, the rapper now legally known as Ye has struck a deal to acquire the conservative social media network Parler. The app touts its itself as an “uncancelable” space devoted to free speech. Parler briefly was forced offline in January 2021 due to activity related to the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Parlement Technologies, Parler’s parent company, announced today that it has entered into an agreement in principle to sell Parler to Ye, who has been “taking a bold stance against his recent censorship from Big Tech,” according to a statement from the company. In his own statement, Ye wrote, “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves.”
For examples of the kinds of opinions Ye believes should not be controversial, you can check out his recent appearance on N.O.R.E.’s Drink Champs podcast, where he inaccurately claimed that George Floyd died from fentanyl and lashed out at the “Jewish Zionists.” Yikes.