(The Conversation is a source of independent, non-profit information, research and observation from education experts. )

Alex Newhouse, Middlebury Institute for International Studies

(THE CONVERSATION) Early on the morning of January 11, the Talked out social media platform disconnected after Amazon got rid of the platform’s Internet accommodations.

Amazon’s resolution follows Google and Apple’s ban on the Talk app in their app stores. Technology corporations cited the platform’s inability or reluctance to block calls and threats of violence. Amazon’s resolution shut down the platform, at least until the company can locate other Internet accommodations. Service.

Talk has noticed a sharp increase in the number of new users following President Donald Trump’s Twitter ban on January 8. Since the November election, when they saw an increase in usage, Talk has helped widen the gap among other perceptions of the truth of polarized audiences.

Competitor Gab also forced himself to disconnect after the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, but it was only temporary. Shooter Robert Bowers had posted anti-Semitic and violent content on the platform, and the revelation led PayPal, GoDaddy and Medium to ban Gab from his services. Since then,. Gab has been back online and reportedly gained thousands of new users since the close of Talk.

Going up to the right

After the U. S. presidential election. Since 2020, Parler has become known among right-wing politicians and influencers, often online, as a social media platform where they can simply focus and publicize concepts without worrying about blocking or reporting their posts as harmful or misleading. However, the online page also has a haven for far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists who have interacted with classical conservatives who flock to the platform.

As the top 3 social media corporations (YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter) continued to take steps to mitigate the spread of extremism and misinformation, Parler welcomed the exodus of right-wing users. Its popularity skyrocketed, doubling its club to 10 million in November, and claimed 12 million at the time of its closure, which is still overshadowed by Twitter’s 330 million monthly active users.

On classic social media, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the presidential election, and theories alleging crimes from Biden’s crusade and Democrats are reported as misinformation. In Speaking, Trump won overwhelmingly, to steal his victory through a vast alliance of criminals, adding Democrats and the so-called “deep state. “

But with their good luck came here the truth that extremist movements like QAnon and the Boogalooers have thrived in the deregulated chaos of the platform.

The Origins of Talking

Talk was introduced in 2018 and has discovered its position as a niche platform for right-wing users who opposed content moderation on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Su user base remained small, less than one million users, until early 2020.

Other basically right-wing platforms, namely Gab, had housed marginal and violent ideologists and teams at the time of Parler’s release, including far-right violent militias and mass gunman Robert Bowers.

Talking, on the other hand, has earned a reputation for targeting classical conservatives through a handful of high-level early adopters like Brad Parscale, Candace Owens and Senator Mike Lee. As a result, in 2020, when Twitter began tagging Trump’s misleading tweets about fraud imaginable in mail votes and mail orders , politicians like Ted Cruz followed Talk as the next bastion of conservative discourse.

The 2020 election

In the weeks leading up to the November 3 election, major social media sites took steps to mitigate extremism and incorrect election-related data. Twitter has released tags for all false data on ballots by mail and turned on tweeted articles to inspire others. Facebook blocked QAnon’s teams and then limited the accounts adjacent to QAnon by driving the conspiracy theories “SaveTheChildren”. Facebook has also begun banning Holocaust denial posts. YouTube has classified and blocked the advertising of fake election-related data. He put a lot of videos that sell conspiracy theories in position.

These movements continued after the election, especially when classic Conservative politicians and Trump pushed for the false claim that Biden and Democrats committed large-scale voter fraud to borrow the election. As a result, millions of users have migrated to platforms of choice: Gab, MeWe and, in particular, Talk.

Users came there for the promise of a site that would not rate false data and would not prohibit the creation of extremist communities, but they also moved because Republican politicians and recognized elites noted that Talking is the new home of conservative discourse. with commentator Mark Levin and Fox host Sean Hannity.

Promoting racism, anti-Semitism and violence

Talking has only two network rules: it consciously authorizes the activity of criminals and allows spam or bots on its platform. The lack of rules about hate speech has allowed racism and anti-Semitism to thrive in Talk.

My study center has spent several years building a vast encyclopedia of far-right terminology and jargon, covering specific topics in the spectrum of white, neo-phascist and anti-State supremacist movements. efforts to moderate the content of customer platforms and how jargon and memes are used to evade regulation.

We have been tracking far-right communities in Talk since March and have noticed the common use of apparent terms of white supremacists and more implicit and evasive memes and jargons. For example, among other particular content of white supremacists, Parler authorizes usernames that refer to the -Semistic slogans of the neo-Nazi Organization Atomwaffen Division, messages that spread the theory that Jews descend from Satan, and hashtags such as “HitlerWasRight. “

In addition, it is easy to locate the implicit intolerance and violence that in the end led Facebook to ban movements like QAnon. For example, QAnon’s edition of the “blood defamation” theory: the theory of the centuries-old false conspiracy that Jews murder other Christian people and use their blood for rituals – has spread widely on the platform. Thousands of posts also use QAnon hashtags and advertise the false claim that the world’s elites literally eat children.

Among the platforms of choice, Parler stands out because white supremacists, QAnon supporters, and classical conservatives exist nearby, resulting in comment threads about politician publications that are a melting pot of far-right beliefs, in reaction to unfounded crime allegations through Donald Trump Jr. who declares, “Civil War is the way to drain the swamp. “

Behind the scenes

Parler’s assets are still largely kept secret, however, the few data that has been revealed makes Talk’s popularity even more worrying.

For example, Dan Bongino, the popular right-wing commentator who has published an e-book on the conspiracy theory of “deep state” and publishes unverified information, has at least a small stake in the company. CEO John Matze said in a message on Talk that it is no longer available because the site is down and the assets are made up of itself and a “small organization of close friends and employees. “

In particular, conservative billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah, are investors on the platform. Rebekah Mercer helped co-find her with Matze. The Mercers are well known for their investments in other conservative causes, adding Nigel Farage’s Brexit campaign, Breitbart News and Cambridge Analytica: The connection to Cambridge Analytica has alarmed experts, who are concerned that Parler may be gathering information from unintentional users.

Talk’s privacy policy also does not dispel user privacy considerations: the policy says Parler has permission to collect a large amount of non-public data and provides its members much less about what that knowledge can be used for.

The future of speaking

If the company can locate a new Internet host service, Talk’s destination will depend on what its members do in the coming months. Will the company capitalize on the entry of new users or will its members slowly return to the primary platforms, especially in the midst of recriminations over the role of the platform in lifting the US Capitol. America? The main thing is how Trump himself reacts and whether he finally creates an account in Talk. Then.

[Editors of The Conversation’s Politics Society articles should know how to register with Politics Weekly. ]

Having welcomed a right-wing audience and allowed hate speech to flourish on its platform, Talking is also at the mercy of its user base. Extremism and online hatred can lead to violence in the genuine world through the legitimization of excessive actions. Fanaticism and its association with violent movements have allowed right-wing extremists to gather supporters in Washington, D. C. , in a position to force Congress to yield to their will, through violence if necessary. violence through its members.

While it is unclear whether Talk will expand and expand in the future, my studies suggest that extremism among its user base will persist for months.

This is an updated edition of an article originally published on November 27, 2020.

This article has been republished from The Conversation, a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation. com/big-techs-rejection-of-parler-shuts-down-a-site-favored-by-trump-supporters-and-used-by-participants-in-the-insurrection-of-capitol-153070.