The afternoon Parler, a social media platform popular with conservatives, announced its takeover by Ye, better known as Kanye West, the site emailed hundreds of VIP members eager to share the news.
There were only two problems.
Parler failed to blindfold CC email addresses, accidentally revealing the contact details of at least 10 lawmakers and many more conservative stars. The other problem: Some of those “VIPs” had no idea why they were labeled as such, admitting they had little to no association with the controversial app, let alone special status there.
“Chair [Kelli] Ward is not active on Parler and hasn’t opened the app in over two years,” said Kristy Dohnel, a spokesman for the Arizona Republican Party. “We have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The episode and the ensuing confusion — a company spokesperson declined to answer questions about who compiled the list and the criteria behind it — gave Parler a headache during what should have been a celebratory time. Since its inception in 2018, the site has sought to position itself as a champion of free speech, recruiting Donald Trump supporters and conservative celebrities with the promise of being the ultimate social media counterweight to the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
But the accidental email raises questions about how big Parler’s influence actually is as Ye prepares to buy it, since the VIP list included general media addresses and some that were old or defunct. It also offers a glimpse into the often chaotic nature of the conservative media ecosystem, where various platforms compete for market share and industry dominance by targeting a small group of influential conservative figures and relaxing editorial guardrails.
Parler’s platform has become a haven for far-right posters and anti-Semitic content. It was banned from Apple and Google stores in early 2021 after the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill, and to returnthe app made changes to the content moderation.
But it struggles to build an audience. According to Similarweb, an analytics firm specializing in web traffic and performance, Parler’s ranking has declined over time compared to other platforms popular with conservatives. It saw just over 1.2 million visits in September, compared to GETTR, with over 7.1 million visits, Trump’s own Truth Social, with over 8.9 million visits, and another conservative site, Gab, with more than 12.8 million visits.
A Parler spokesperson said the site had about 16 million registered users prior to Ye’s purchase announcement. But according to data analytics firm Apptopia, it only has 40,000 daily active users. That pales in comparison to Twitter’s 237 million daily active users, the company said latest earnings report.
Eric Wilson, a managing partner of Startup Caucus, a Republican campaign technology investment fund, said Parler’s problem was not unique to that platform. Sites built around political communities generally have a hard time building the so-called “network effect” that sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have built. That’s because the vast majority of social media users don’t go on the platforms to talk about politics. “And so these concentrated networks of people who want to talk about politics essentially create a choir room,” Wilson said.
“This idea of an only conservative political social media network is not going to get off the ground,” he added. “And I wish these entrepreneurs and investors would put their money into more effective projects.”
Part of what contributed to the public’s shared misery is that Parler lacked the star power and user base that Trump and his family bring to platforms. Trump hasn’t joined Parler, even though Ye is talks with the former president about doing that.
In the absence of Trump, there is hope that Ye himself can play the lead role. An account for the rapper – who is currently engulfed in his own scandal for a series of antisemitic comments that resulted in his suspension from Twitter and Instagram – appeared on Parler Monday. On Thursday, he had more than 29,000 users following him. It was a tiny fraction of his 31 million Twitter followers. He sent his first “parley” Wednesday afternoon, quoting a Bible verse that said, “Romans 8:31: “What shall we say then to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” He later posted a video of a “2024” hat, hinting at a possible presidential run.
A person familiar with Parler’s company said the company had been looking for a buyer since it announced it had acquired cloud service provider Dynascaleand that it established a new parent company, Parliament Technologies, Inc., and focused on cloud technology.
“Parliament has always explored and continues to explore strategic opportunities for all of its brands,” a company spokesperson said.
When Ye’s acquisition plans were announced, Parler’s outreach team sent the VIP email under the subject line “Ye + Parler.”
The list of recipients contained a number of e-mails whose identities could not be traced. But it also included emails for MAGA media stars like Charlie Kirk and Jack Posobiec; Trump world figures such as Kimberly Guilfoyle, Brad Parscale and Dan Scavino; and other names including Eduardo Bolsonaro, Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe, Michael Flynn, Dan Bongino and Dana Loesch. POLITICO reached out for comments from these individuals. Flynn’s email bounced.
The list also included GOP lawmakers, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Michigan GOP Governor Candidate Tudor Dixon, Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.) and the generic press email addresses for numerous other members of Congress.
The text of the email described the recipients as owners of “gold-badged accounts” and informed them of Ye’s plans to buy Parliament Technologies. The outreach team assured recipients that “Parler’s core mission will remain the same” and promised to keep the lines of communication open.
“As an account with a gold badge, you are still communicating with the same Outreach team. Our VIPs are invaluable to the Parler family and experience,” the email read, signed by three members of Parler’s Outreach Team. “We appreciate all of your support and partnership in the fight for freedom of expression, and we look forward to your involvement in this monumental new chapter.”
But the outreach team forgot to hide the recipient list; or at least a full version of it (the e-mail obtained by POLITICO was arranged alphabetically and only contained recipients up to the letter J). By the end of the day Monday, the email had been forwarded in conservative circles. The daily caller also mentioned on the VIP list.
Many of the names in the email have operational Parler accounts, including Kirk and Trump’s superfans Diamond and Silk. Others appear to have joined the site for research or muckraking purposes, including MSNBC’s Ali Velshi.
Several people on the email recipient list expressed surprise when they revealed they were Parler VIPs.
“I worked with and was approached by Parler prior to my election in 2020. I was given a badge because I worked in the media and they wanted to confirm my account was the official one. [account] to avoid impersonation accounts,” said Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican congressional candidate in Florida. “I’m not familiar with the email you have, but I haven’t spoken to anyone from the organization for a few years because I prefer Instagram as the primary means of communication and didn’t like Parler’s interface.”
One of the Republicans whose email was on the list said a Parler representative approached them at an event, urging them to use the platform more and informing them that they had VIP status with them. “Before I know it, I get an email saying, ‘Oops, I’m sorry. We’ve sent your email to everyone on our list,'” the person said.
It was just one of many PR issues Parler faced after the company’s announcement of Ye’s acquisition. On Tuesday, CEO George Farmer Refused Repeated Efforts From Fox Business Anchor Stuart Varney to say whether or not the platform would allow Ye to make anti-Semitic comments about the platform, saying Ye would eventually be the “controller” when the deal is done.
Farmer told the Wall Street Journal the conversation with Ye to buy the platform started during Paris Fashion Week when his wife, conservative commentator and influencer Candace Owens, appeared with the rapper wearing controversial “White Lives Matter” T-shirts. The Anti-Defamation League has called that slogan a “white supremacist expression” created as a “racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement.”
“Ye is not only a music and clothing titan, but, like Parler, he has faced senseless and unnecessary censorship and cancellation by Big Tech. He shares Parler’s passion for freedom of expression and independent thought,” Farmer said in a statement to users on Monday. “Parler remains a place where everyone can think, listen and speak freely. We will continue to fight against censorship, culture cancellation and authoritarianism.”
Olivia Beavers contributed coverage.
