Users Ditch Facebook and Twitter for “Free Speech” Apps After Election
Screenshot of the Parler app as advertised on the Apple App Store
A large portion of social media users and consumers have decided to switch to social platforms like Parler in the aftermath of the 2020 Presidential Election.
Leading up to the election, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram users debated if the apps were restricting the freedom of speech denoted in the United States Constitution. Applying the First Amendment to social media platforms is difficult as there was no such thing when the Founding Fathers wrote and established the law. The Supreme Court interprets over and over again what the meaning of the “freedom of speech” law truly is, and what it covers.
The question is: What role does the amendment play with social media?
Social media platforms are privately owned businesses that host users on their sites, and they have the right to restrict what is posted on their sites through terms and conditions that users agree to when they sign up. In May 2020, at the height of social unrest in the United States, President Trump’s tweet was shielded from users as Twitter labeled it as “glorifying violence.” That particular tweet and many of President Trump’s since then, have been labeled with fact-checks and warning labels.
According to Forbes, this unprecedented action from Twitter created a “firestorm” between Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg stated that “his company would make no such editorial choices.” President Trump’s remarks remained unaltered on Facebook.
“Political speech is one of the most sensitive parts in a democracy, and people should be able to see what politicians say,” Zuckerberg told CNBC. He also noted that he “think[s] that Facebook or internet platforms, in general, should be arbiters of truth.”
CNBC pointed out instances in history when Facebook has played the role of arbiter of truth-- especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Facebook removed posts including the viral “Plandemic Movie” because of the suggestions made within the movie that went against community guidelines. Issues like these have led people to become fed up with current high-profile social media apps.
The image aforementioned that circulated social media
In the days after the election, timelines were filled with “follow me on Parler” messages and usernames. A picture going around listed the “new” social media apps. Parler is the new Twitter, Mewe is the new Facebook, Newsmax is the new Fox News and so on.
Parler, based out of Henderson, Nevada, believes it is the “solution to problems that have surfaced in recent years due to changes in Big Tech policy.” The company thinks the Big Tech corporations have been influenced by special-interest groups, and they want to offer an app that is based on the “foundation of respect for privacy and personal data, free speech, free markets, and ethical, transparent corporate policy.”
The company values transparency, equality and religious freedom, but the app does not tolerate rage mobs and violent ideas. They hope their “viewpoint-neutral policies” foster tolerance. Parler CEO John Matze spoke with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson this week about why he thinks the app has been put in the spotlight post-election. According to Fox News, Parler was the most downloaded app on the Apple App store during Election week and No. 2 on Google Play.
"We just want to sit back and say 'social media was supposed to be about the people. It was supposed to be about people having a free voice, being able to be, you know, liberated from restrictions,'" Matze said. "And so that's what we are here to offer is a community town square for people to have discussions."
President Trump’s family are some of the most highly publicized users to join the platform. Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump and Lara Trump are all verified users with thousands of followers. Eric’s account has surpassed 1.6 million followers in May, according to Newsweek.
Parler’s CEO envisions the platform as a “community town square,” and the company, only founded in 2018, is navigating their surplus of new users. CNN states the “mashup of Twitter and Instagram” is “rife with misinformation.” The question now is how long the app can maintain its neutrality amongst the large exodus from other social media platforms, and if users will decide to completely remove their profiles from the Big Tech company platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
“Jumping ship creates a false sense of security to those who feel like they are being censored by the large, more well-known social platforms,” a Social Media Expert told the EST. “At the end of the day, all of the platforms (old and new) will be required to have a ‘reporting,’ ‘monitoring,’ or ‘flagging,’ mechanism to keep the ‘bad’ users in check.”