Kanye West buys Parler, rights-friendly social media site

The rapper formerly known as Kanye West is offering to buy right-wing social network Parler shortly after being booted from Twitter and Instagram for anti-Semitic posts.

Parlement Technologies, which owns the platform, and West, legally known as Ye, said the acquisition should close in the fourth quarter, but details such as pricing were not disclosed. According to Parlement Technologies, the agreement includes the use of private cloud services via Parlement’s private cloud and data center infrastructure.

Ye was banned from Twitter and Instagram a week ago for anti-Semitic posts that the social networks said violated their policies. In a post on Twitter, Ye said he would soon go “Death 3 for JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records, apparently referring to the US Defense Preparedness Scale known as DEFCON.

MORE: Kanye West’s Twitter, Instagram suspended for offensive post

Ye is no stranger to controversy, once suggesting slavery is a choice and calling the COVID-19 vaccine “the mark of the beast.” Earlier this month he was criticized for wearing one White Lives Matter t-shirt to his collection at Paris Fashion Week.

The potential purchase of Parler would give Ye control of a social media platform and a new platform for his opinions without a gatekeeper.

“In a world where conservative opinions are considered controversial, we must ensure we have the right to express ourselves freely,” Ye said in a prepared statement.

The acquisition could also breathe new life into it Parler, which is struggling under competition from other conservative platforms like Truth Social. Parler, which started in August 2018, only picked up steam in 2020. However, it was taken offline after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. A month after the attack, Parler a reboot. It returned to Google Play last month.

“This deal will change the world and change the way the world thinks about free speech,” Parlement Technologies CEO George Farmer said in a prepared statement.