(New York) The social network Parler announced Thursday that it has given up on being bought out by rapper and entrepreneur Kanye West, embroiled in a series of controversies and accused of anti-Semitism.
The man who officially changed his name to Ye last year made an offer in October for the popular conservative platform, a proposal he said was motivated by the desire to defend freedom of expression.
Parler’s parent company, Parliament Technologies, “has reached an agreement with Ye to end the Parler sale agreement,” she said on the social network’s official Parler account.
“This decision was made in mid-November in the interest of both parties,” said the company, which indicated that “Talk (will continue) to study opportunities for growth and evolution of the platform”.
Since posting anti-Semitic messages on Instagram and Twitter in early October, Kanye West has gradually become persona non grata in the business world.
Balenciaga, then Adidas, ended their partnership with the bipolar artist, known for his unpredictable behavior and his taste for controversy.
On Thursday, he confessed his admiration for Adolf Hitler on far-right conspiratorialist Alex Jones’ flagship show.
Launched in 2018, Parler gained popularity after Donald Trump was ousted from Twitter after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, mainly among ultraconservatives.
It presents itself as an alternative to the blue bird network, in the same way as Gab, Gettr or Truth Social, the platform since created by the former Republican president.
Determined to limit its moderation of exchanges in order to promote freedom of expression, Parler had been removed from the download platforms of Apple and Google shortly after the events of January 2021.
It finally made its return to the Apple application store in April 2021 and to the Google Play Store, its equivalent at Google, last September, after having expanded the moderation of its content.