What Is Parler? Trump Supporters, Republicans Flee To Social Media App Amid Twitter Backlash

Parler, a social media platform aimed at a being an alternative to Twitter, has seen a considerable uptick in usage from one particular group: American conservatives. According to CEO John Matze, the service exploded from 1 million to 1.5 million active users in the week ending on Sunday — a boom that corresponded with the arrival of right-wing figureheads Jim Jordan, Elise Stefanik and Nikki Haley to the platform.

While the trend may have taken a major step this week with the arrival of thousands of conservatives fleeing left-wing backlash on Twitter, it is not a new phenomenon. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky joined Parler in 2018 when it first started up, urging his Twitter followers to join him. Earlier this month, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas joined after Rep. Devin Nunes of California joined in February. Over the years, the likes of Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, Eric Trump, and Lara Trump have also joined the burgeoning platform.

The mass arrival of conservatives on Parler comes as President Trump has begun to see pushback on Twitter for his questionable comments and promotion of conspiracy theories. In recent months, Twitter has flagged several Trump tweets for spreading debunked claims about mail-in voting and glorifying violence against Black Lives Matter protestors.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is reportedly searching for an alternative to Twitter and Facebook.

Writing for Fast Company, Mark Sullivan recently published what he learned from using the Parler app, describing his findings as “a safe space to share memes and conspiracies, bash the libs and other targets, and complain about [Twitter CEO] Jack Dorsey.” While the platform has touted itself as devoted to “free speech,” Sullivan noted that the conversations he observed largely revolved around conspiracies that big-tech companies are actively censoring conservative voices and vitriol targeted at said companies and their leaders.

“It’s a clean, well-lighted place where mainly white people spout rumors, misinformation, and vitriol about a variety of go-to topics such as Black Lives Matter, Antifa, Big Tech, 'socialism,' 'Plandemic,' and 'Muslims,'” Sullivan explained, attempting to sum up what Parler “really is.”

“There’s plenty of venom for popular targets such as Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, George Soros, and Bill Gates. You’ll also find lots of articles being shared from Breitbart, the Washington Times, OAN, InfoWars, The Federalist, and a variety of smaller right-wing 'news' sites,” Sullivan notes.

While Parler has surged to the top of the App Store charts on the back of this conservative influx, Matze has said that he wants Parler to attract liberal and progressive users as well. He has even gone so far as to offer a $20,000 “bounty” for any left-wing figure with a Twitter following of over 50,000 to join Parler.

“The whole company was never intended to be a pro-Trump thing,” Matze said. “A lot of the audience is pro-Trump. I don’t care. I’m not judging them either way.”