Kanye West wants to take over the right-wing online network Parler, which had established itself among Trump supporters in the USA – for the right to “free speech”.
New York – The well-known rapper Kanye West from the USA wants to buy the right-wing online network Parler. “In a world where conservative opinions are considered controversial, we must ensure we have the right to express ourselves freely,” the company behind Parler quoted the musician as saying in a statement Monday (October 17).
Parler had established itself in recent years, particularly among supporters of former US President Donald Trump. The company did not initially provide any information on the financial scope of the planned takeover by Kanye West.
Founded back in 2018, Parler gained massive popularity after Trump was banned from Twitter and other platforms as a result of the January 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol. According to the network, it strives to “strengthen the future of freedom of expression” and to lead the “fight” against “big technology companies, an intrusive government, censorship and cancel culture”.
USA: Rapper Kanye West wants to buy platform Parler
Kanye West had recently been restricted in his use of well-known online networks because of posts classified as anti-Semitic – which Trump also recently made public. It is also not the first time that he has provoked with his choice of words. In a lengthy 2018 radio interview, he said of US slavery, which victimized Black people, that it was their choice – they were “mentally trapped”.
He also caused a stir with controversial actions, such as when he appeared at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month wearing a shirt that read “White Lives Matter.” The slogan is the reactionary answer to “Black Lives Matter”, which became known in the USA after the murder of George Floyd. The slogan “White Lives Matter” is used by groups such as the “Aryan Society for Renaissance” and the Ku Klux Klan. (na/dpa)
