Parler is one of a litany of tech companies, referred to as alt-tech companies, that have been born of the Trump era. Launched in 2018 and labeling itself as a “non-biased free speech” platform, the company has become one of Conservatives favorite platforms with many Republican surrogates and thought leaders have migrated to in response to Twitter bans or other deplatforming waves.
Parler, pronounced as "par-lay" as in the French "to speak" was launched by self-described libertarian programmer with claims that the platform sought to promote "free expression". It functions much the same as Twitter, the profile pages are almost identical in design, with the only noticiable difference being Parlers longer 1000 character post limit. The platforms growth has come in surges that correspond with the banning of one poster or another from Twitter. Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk, and others have all migrated to Parler since they were banned from Twitter and, with each, many of their followers have signed up to continue to show their support.
While many social media platforms are arguably too big or too influential the fracturing of online communities along idealogical lines gives observers pause. How can society function when it's too halves cannot even interact much less cannot even agree on facts? How can our government work toward solutions when, instead of trying to attract as many voters as possible to their cause, our politicians only reach out to their bases in the hopes of soliciting larger and larger reactions?
Parler is not causing the fracturing of political discourage in the United States but no one can disagree that it is not helping.