Kanye West gets into the social media business by acquiring Parler, a conservative Twitter clone

More and more public figures who feel “censored” on social media want to get into the social media business so they can write their own rules. First Donald Trump launched his own social network called Truth, then Elon Musk started his Twitter acquisition, and now Kanye West, freshly blocked on Twitter and Instagram, has announced he’s buying Parler, a Twitter clone with less moderation.

Kanye West buys Parler in the name of “free speech”

The American rapper doesn’t seem to have given it much thought after being blocked on the most popular US social media last week. He is already in talks with Parler executives and the deal should be completed before the end of this year. At the moment, an amount has not yet been disclosed.

Parlement Technologies, Parler’s parent company, recently bought a cloud service provider that it can keep its servers on without fear of being taken down, as it has in the past. Apple and Google blocked Parler from the App Store around the time of the attack on the Capitol in Washington DC, as it was the platform on which participants organized and communicated. The companies cited a lack of content moderation at the time. Recently, the app returned to the Play Store.

The app is strongly associated with far-right political leaners in the US, Donald Trump supporters and conspiracists. In the absence of strong moderation rules, such people are likely to quickly find others who share the same ideas.

“The proposed acquisition will ensure Paler has a role in the future of creating a “no-cancel” ecosystem where all voices are welcome”, said Parler representatives. Kanye West added that “In a world where conservative views are considered controversial, we need to make sure we have the right to express ourselves freely.”

Kanye West has been blocked from Twitter and Instagram following repeated anti-Semitic posts.