These people just don’t give up, do they?
Parler CEO John Matze was spot on when he noted that the far-left is “obsessed” with the social media platform. The app has seen aggressive growth over the past four years as companies like Twitter and Facebook have been stepping up their efforts to censor conservative views.
The far-left hasn’t been too happy about Parler’s growth, which has prompted corporate media outlets to publish hit pieces about the company, spreading falsehoods designed to portray the platform as some sort of haven for unsavory folks. The Washington Post published a piece on Dec. 3 deliberately misrepresenting Parler’s position on pornography in yet another attempt to smear the social media platform.
Jeffrey Wernick, Parler’s chief operating officer, penned a piece for The Washington Examiner setting the record straight. “The reporters used half quotes and half facts to attempt to make the ideological points that they wanted to make rather than tell the full and accurate story,” he wrote.
The Parler executive began by explaining that “Parler does not welcome, nor promote any type of pornographic (child or adult) imagery, video content or pornographic marketed goods on our platform.”
He added, “our platform’s foundation is built upon two core ideas: privacy and freedom. Parler is a paradigm shift for the future of social media, and as evidenced by slanderous articles such as these, mainstream media outlets are scared.”
Wernick then noted the part of the WaPo article that mischaracterized Parler’s position on pornographic images. The Post wrote:
“Twitter generally allows them so long as they show the images or actions of consenting adults. Parler once banned all pornography but in recent months revised its terms of service to permit essentially anything that’s legal, making its policy close to Twitter’s, if slightly more permissive. Twitter, however, also has automated systems that prevent excessively rapid posting, as well as other spammy behavior, and employs human moderators to enforce its policies.”
Wernick clarified the company’s approach to pornography, “Clearly, we were and remain so concerned about pornography on our platform that we took steps to curtail its growth. In recent months, we recognized that in keeping with the free speech foundation of Parler, the best course of action would be to allow legal pornography between consenting adults on the platform, and to provide labels that would alert our members of the content within.”
The executive explained that “in response to the first wave of inaccurate accusations of the proliferation of pornography on Parler, we took immediate action. We established a dedicated jury pool of Parler members that act similar to that of a neighborhood watch, flagging and reporting on posts that violate our terms of service, so that we can quickly and efficiently pull down the posts and monitor those profiles for future violations.”
Wernick noted that the Post only “briefly” touched on Twitter’s policies regarding pornographic content that is shared on its platform. “If they had done their due diligence, they would have also found the massive proliferation of pornography on Twitter,” he wrote.
The executive pointed out that after performing a quick “one click” search on Twitter, one could easily find that a top pornography profile has “over 1.7 million followers to date, with 156,900 posts.” He observed that “unlike the tweets of President Trump and other GOP political leadrs that have almost instantaneously been taken down, Twitter allows these posts to remain on their site.”
Parler allows members the option of toggling a button that will restrict inappropriate material from appearing on their feed. “Recent aggregated data of Parler members finds that less than 1% of the close to 12 million members of the Parler community have actively chosen to be exposed to sensitive content, reinforcing the widely held sentiments of those active within Parler’s public square: pornography is not welcome,” Wernick noted.
The executive also pointed out what many of us already know: “People who would never get a second glance for the content they post on Twitter and Facebook are being vilified by the media for joining Parler — because their ideas deviate from that of the media dominating left.”
Progressive media outlets would have you believe that Parler is a dangerous echo chamber where the undesirables go to spout their bigoted views. But in reality, the social media site is a direct repudiation of platforms like Twitter and Facebook who maintain biased censorship practices against right-leaning users.
As I’ve stated previously, members of the corporate press aren’t targeting Parler because they genuinely believe it is harmful; they wish to destroy the company because they don’t want conservatives to be able to express their views on a platform they do not control. Is the site a conservative echo chamber?
Yes, of course it is.
It is an echo chamber that radical leftists in Silicon Valley created by suppressing conservative voices on their platforms instead of allowing users to compete on the battlefield of ideas. It can be no surprise that right-leaning Americans grew tired of the apparent bias exhibited by the more popular social media companies.
But despite being an echo chamber, Parler is not some digital sanctuary for bigots and hate groups. Its user base is made up of everyday conservatives who only wish to discuss their opinions without being silenced. And this, dear reader, is why the far-left fears Parler as they do.
Unfortunately, this probably won’t be the last piece I write about corporate media outlets peddling lies about the company. The rabid left is nothing if not persistent, aren’t they?
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member