Breitbart News recently spoke with the CEO of upstart social media platform Parler about the company’s plans and what makes Parler different from Big Tech’s social media platforms. Breitbart News will begin actively posting on its official Parler account in the near future.
Breitbart News sat down with John Matze, the CEO and co-founder of the new social media app Parler (pronounced par-lay), which describes itself as a “non-biased free speech-driven entity.” Parler has a very clear aim and set of goals, stating:
Parler provides a Commenting and Social News platform for digital publishers, influencers, bloggers, writers, politicians and social users to share news, opinions and content in real time. Additionally, we provide enterprise tools to enhance online blogs, media and websites with direct social integrations and monetization capabilities.
The goal is to offer the world a tool where everyone can be their own media outlet, filter their own content, and the established influencers and digital publishers can enhance their own brands and communities.
Matze explained, “We want users to come to Parler to share their opinions and follow the personalities they want to see content from without fear of shadowbanning and other Silicon Valley tricks designed to stop the spread of ideas the Masters of the Universe find distasteful.” Matze insists that Parler is a truly “neutral platform” open to all political viewpoints.
He also explained how Parler will compete with Silicon Valley tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter: “We want to do everything in a way that’s better for the user’s experience. The fundamental difference between what we’re doing and what everyone else has is we want to be someplace where the user can trust the technology, and they can trust the developers and they can also trust that we’re not going to sell their information or abuse them in any way. Parler will not engage in the creepy Internet tracking that is far too common today. That’s the fundamental difference,” said Matze.
According to Matze, the Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe are “headed down a dark path.” This dark path isn’t only limited to the mistreatment of user privacy, but also the mistreatment of competitors. Citing the example of Google’s attempt to crush Yelp, Matze explained, “the Internet deserves better.” He also pointed out that social media’s tendency to silence views it doesn’t like, whether it is Twitter banning radical feminists who don’t believe that transgender people are women, or Facebook adjusting algorithms to hurt conservatives, damages society as a whole. He told Breitbart News, “When users are banned and silenced, the resulting echo chamber creates bad data, bad statistics, and leaves us without a true picture of the situation. At the same time, social media users are left without a voice, or feeling their opinions must somehow be ‘wrong,’ a big concern for younger generations.”
Read more about Parler and sign up for an account at the company’s website.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com