Parler Acquired by Starboard With Plans to Repurpose ‘Twitter Clone for Conservatives’

Starboard envisions the growth of this platform in the Cloud space

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Starboard, formerly Oympic Media, has acquired Parler, the social media platform previously led by John Matze and funded by Rebekah Mercer.

The digital media conglomerate announced the news in a press release Friday morning. When heading to the website, the release shows up on the homepage.

“No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more,” the release reads. “By refocusing on the cloud and IT infrastructure space George Farmer has done an exceptional job at successfully leading Parlement into a critically important industry where it has already begun to excel.”

The Parler platform as it is currently functioning will be pulled down from operation for an assessment of its structure. The temporary pause of the social media site could give way for an extension beyond politics along with AI and branching out into “servicing unsupported online communities” who don’t receive support from platforms that regulate them.

“Parler’s large user base and additional strategic assets represent an enormous opportunity for Starboard to continue to build aggressively in our media and publishing business,” Starboard CEO Ryan Coyne said. “The team at Parler has built an exceptional audience and we look forward to integrating that audience across all of our existing platforms.”

Starboard, which is based in Arlington, Virginia, expects the deal to be closed by the end of Q2 in 2023. Coyne founded the company formerly known as Olympic Media in 2018. The digital media conglomerate houses other conservative platforms like American Wire and BizPac Review. It also contains business lines that focus on digital advertising, fundraising, publishing and consumer brands. The publishing vertical has experienced rapid growth to several hundred million engaged consumers per year. 

Before Starboard’s acquisition, rapper Kanye “Ye” West attempted to negotiate a deal to purchase the site’s parent company Parlement Technologies. Parler is one of the platforms marketed as ‘Twitter alternatives’ like Gettr, Truth Social and Gab. 

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