Parler, the so-called "free speech" platform that ignores the proper French pronunciation of its name in service of a poor pun, is going to be bought by the man known as Yeezus. If the deal goes through, I bet the startup has a tidy little exit on its hands.
The purchase of a social networking company by a billionaire because of their free speech rights seems familiar. On a grander and more litigious scale, Musk is doing exactly the same thing.
The founder of the electric car company was quick to welcome the rapper back to his account after he was blocked from the photo sharing site for anti-semitic posts. After he pushed more anti-semitic trash, he locked his account and then issued a weak admonishment for his friend.
If the multi-CEO gets his wish and completes the $44 billion transaction to acquire the platform, the interaction and Monday's Parler news say a lot about where we are socially. The two over-moneyed and over-indulged boys spending their way to "uncancelable" status illustrates a lucrative new exit path for startup looking to disrupt the status quo when it comes to letting people say things they shouldn't say.
It used to be that billionaires having a temper tantrum would cause the death of media outlets, but the new trend seems to be not attempting to quash the object of their ire, but rather spending a lot of money to warp a collective social viewpoint to fit their own. There's a lot of economic opportunity to be had for down-on- their-luck networking tools with flexible moral outlooks.
A lot of startup companies have arisen to address the social media companies being able to control what we can and cannot see. They may be able to use a bruised ego to help their investors return their money.
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