Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Unhappy at Twitter, thousands of Saudis crash pro-Trump social network Parler
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS JUNE 13, 2019 / 4:37 PM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Unhappy at Twitter, thousands of Saudis crash pro-Trump social network
Elizabeth Culliford, Katie Paul
6 MIN READ
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A surge of about 200,000 users believed to be from Saudi Arabia who are frustrated at what they say is censorship by Twitter have helped crash the small social media network Parler, which styles itself as a “free speech-driven” space.
The unexpected arrival of the new accounts since Sunday more than doubled the total number of Parler users and crippled some functions, CEO and co-founder John Matze told Reuters.
The influx of users has created unusual bedfellows on Parler, which has mostly been a home for supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump after starting up a year ago.
An analysis by Reuters and Citizen Lab, a Canadian research group, found that many of the new users came from Saudi Arabia. They promoted their use of Parler with hashtags on Twitter, which they accuse of stifling expression by arbitrarily banning users.
“The nationalist movement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made it known that big tech is censoring them at rates we have never experienced in the United States,” Parler wrote in a post on its own account on the site. “Let us welcome them as we all fight for our rights together.”
-snip-
Unhappy at Twitter, thousands of Saudis crash pro-Trump social network
Elizabeth Culliford, Katie Paul
6 MIN READ
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A surge of about 200,000 users believed to be from Saudi Arabia who are frustrated at what they say is censorship by Twitter have helped crash the small social media network Parler, which styles itself as a “free speech-driven” space.
The unexpected arrival of the new accounts since Sunday more than doubled the total number of Parler users and crippled some functions, CEO and co-founder John Matze told Reuters.
The influx of users has created unusual bedfellows on Parler, which has mostly been a home for supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump after starting up a year ago.
An analysis by Reuters and Citizen Lab, a Canadian research group, found that many of the new users came from Saudi Arabia. They promoted their use of Parler with hashtags on Twitter, which they accuse of stifling expression by arbitrarily banning users.
“The nationalist movement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made it known that big tech is censoring them at rates we have never experienced in the United States,” Parler wrote in a post on its own account on the site. “Let us welcome them as we all fight for our rights together.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-saudi-politics/unhappy-at-twitter-thousands-of-saudis-crash-pro-trump-social-network-idUSKCN1TE32S
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
