Kanye West is now buying the social network Parler for an undisclosed sum, the site has announced. The purchase by the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,\u201d<\/p>he said in a statement.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
George Farmer, the chief executive of Parler\u2019s parent company, Parlement Technologies, said: \u201cThis deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Farmer, who is married to West\u2019s friend the activist Candace Owens<\/strong> and is the son of the former Conservative party treasurer and peer Michael Farmer, added: \u201cOnce again, Ye proves that he is one step ahead of the legacy media narrative. Parlement will be honoured to help him achieve his goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The social network was founded in 2018 by John Matze and Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of the billionaire hedge fund manager and Breitbart co-owner Robert Mercer. But the fact many of those who carried out the 6 January storming of the US Capitol used the site led to the ousting of Matze and his replacement in May 2021 by Farmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the aftermath of the attack on the US Capitol, Parler was removed from the Apple and Google app stores<\/a>, and on 10 January went offline entirely after Amazon Web Services pulled its account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n