Author of The Blackout Book and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted
After years of being censored on Facebook and Twitter, conservatives, libertarians, and other fans of free speech are making a mass exodus to new platforms. One that has really taken off since the election is Parler, which has been the most downloaded app in the country over the past two weeks.
Unsurprisingly, the mainstream media and left-wing extremists are outraged. How dare the people who have been censored, deplatformed, and shut down on their social media sites move to a site that promises not to treat them like pariahs? (By the way, you can find me on Parler here: @daisyluther ) They go as far as to say it’s a “threat to democracy” because libertarians and conservatives get to post.
I mean, seriously, we can’t be letting conservatives and libertarians post their opinions all willy-nilly, right? What will happen without the “fact-checkers?”
Why on earth WOULDN’T people go to a different network?
Personally, I haven’t had access to my own Facebook pages for more than a year and won’t unless I send them photos of my passport, a utility bill, and other identifying information – because they didn’t think my driver’s license was sufficient. As well, I voluntarily archived my thriving preparedness groups because of the threat of losing both my groups, my own personal account, and the accounts of all my moderators if we let through a post of which Facebook disapproved. I wrote more about it here.
And remember when Twitter shut down Zero Hedge’s account for posting something about the coronavirus they deemed as misinformation that was later proven to be true? And how they put warnings on nearly anything the President posts? And how conservative and libertarian websites are being demonetized?
I invite you to try posting anything on standard social media that questions vaccines, the outcome of the election, the COVID lockdowns, or is pro-gun. I’ll see you in Facebook jail.
Everyone who is leaving is a crazy racist.
To hear the MSM talk about it, everyone over there has a “bunker mentality”, they’re joyously engaging in racism and hate speech, and they just want an echo chamber. It’s “not good for the country,” according to commentators on CNN.
“There’s this new social media app called Parler getting a lot of attention, because conservatives are leaving, saying they’re leaving Twitter and Facebook, going of to Parler, because they believe Parler is a safer space for them. What we’re seeing is even more of a bunker mentality in right-wing media. And ultimately that’s not good for the country.”
“No it’s not good, it’s a threat to democracy,” Pamela Brown replied, “that these people are in echo chambers and they’re getting fed a diet of lies essentially.” (source)
Incidentally, sweeping generalizations aside, there are a lot of folks over there (like me) who are not politically conservative.
CNN is not alone in their hysteria about the social media outlet. Here’s what the mainstream media is saying about Parler and the folks using it. Yes, the irony over their outrage is palpable. And yes, it does seem like they’re trying to further divide the country. Be sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel – it’s a great show with timely subject matter. (Warning: Some harsh language)
For those of you new to Parler:
If you ask questions on those videos, I’m sure you’ll get an answer.
Things to remember about social media
For those who want free speech that is not left-leaning, Parler definitely seems like a better option than the Big Tech monoliths. However, there are a few things to remember.
- If you get to use something for free, you are the product. Either your eyeballs on advertisements or your information will make Parler money one of these days. And it’s understandable – the expense of running a platform like that is immense.
- While the rules may be favorable toward your position right now, it doesn’t mean they always will be. Facebook didn’t start out censoring the snot out of everyone who didn’t agree with Mark Zuckerberg. The rules will evolve.
- Don’t share too much personal information. I know you guys are aware of this, but I just want to remind you not to share the kind of personal information that would allow people to find out where you live, when you’ll be on vacation, etc. Nothing online is that safe.
- Don’t become too dependent on one outlet. Whether you’re a blogger like me or someone who just wants to connect with like-minded people, don’t forget that you are using their platform. They make the rules and they can decide whether you can stay or go, whether you can post certain things, or whether they want to change direction. It’s comparable to building a house on borrowed land. It might be nice land, but it’s not yours.
With these caveats in mind, I’ll see you over there if you are a social media person. Find me @daisyluther on Parler and please consider checking out our forum, here, for more in-depth preparedness discussions.
UPDATED TO ADD: Yes, there is a place where it asks you to upload your ID. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SHOW YOUR ID TO USE THE SERVICE.
This is a verification process that puts a little badge on your profile photo confirming that you are who you say you are. I opted to do so because I promote my business on Parler and I don’t want some person on there pretending to be me and sharing information using my name and likeness. If you are a casual user, you don’t need to do this. Heck, even if you’re a business user, you don’t have to do this. You can still use the service without being verified. This is entirely optional and up to your discretion.
Do you think a more conservative social media outlet is a bad thing?
Are you bothered by a social media platform that doesn’t conservatives and libertarians? Or do you think it’s fair and reasonable to be able to share your opinions equally?
Let’s talk about it in the comments.
“a ‘Threat to Democracy’ Because Libertarians and Conservatives Get to Post”
well they’re right you know. when you realize that by “democracy” they mean “we tell everyone else what to do” then it all comes clear.
“Why on earth WOULDN’T people go to a different network?”
you misunderstand. to them, they are The People. to them, we’re not people. to them, we’re talking animals put here by god to serve them, to be eliminated if we don’t. to them, us walking away from them simply is beyond the pale of rational and moral discussion.
“Everyone who is leaving is a crazy racist”
it’s true. of course by “racist” they mean “anyone who isn’t us” and by “crazy” they mean “anyone who doesn’t think like us”. and they really do mean it.
think of them as a primitive isolated tribe. because they are.
Free speech is a basic human right. Every site that’s censoring is against basic human rights.
All the left-wing “fact checkers,” media, and social media platforms have a goal of tilting things in their favor by pushing any information – true or false – that favors their desired outcome (i.e. left-wing totalitarianism that they believe in “progressing” toward), and that includes censoring, hiding, and lying about any facts that do NOT favor their desired outcome.
The fact that anyone wants to censor means their ideas are terrible and they can’t win an honest open argument, with no ability to refute information contrary to what they want to be true.
Censoring should be seen by all as being in the same category as lying, cheating, and stealing. It’s a method of incredibly selfish and entitled criminals with no respect for others.
All these social networks are private businesses, they are not public space. You seem to forget or ignore that fact. The owners can do what they want, it is their business we have to play by their rules. Don’t like the rules, take you ball and go home.
“All these social networks are private businesses”
sure. except they’re effectively 1) utilities and 2) monopolies, so different rules get applied (at least in most businesses).
and there’s also rule 230 (or some other number) that delineates the differences between a carrier and a publisher. a carrier 1) does not censor or control content and thus 2) is not legally responsible for content, while a publisher 1) is legally responsible for content and thus 2) must censor and control content. the larger social networks have all been acting like publishers – censoring like mad – while claiming the protections of carriers – not responsible for content. can’t have it both ways.
RIc,
Please read the column before commenting, the last section “Things To Remember About Social Media” already spells out your point for the reader sir. Daisy’s example of building a house on rented ground sums it up quite well enough that social media sites are a privately owned concern.
Mack
Except when we try to do that we get shut down and deplatformed…
a basic human right? where is this the case? In what country?
I do not believe anybody should be censored. It is the readers responsibility to do their due diligence and research any opinion presented. It is not the job of any social media to control the opinions of the masses by deleting or “fact checking” any post. I have left Facebook for this very thing and close to not participating in any social media platform. My stance is regardless of political party. Democrats should not be silenced no more then Conservatives or Libertarians. It is called free speech.
Censorship on a private website is perfectly legit, like it or not. Facebook is a private business, just like any other business, you have to deal with their rules. It’s also known as private property. Your house your rules,
The Conservative Treehouse is being deplatformed by WordPress…
Well, so they hate freedom of speech, the first amendment? K. They’re entitled. But in honestly, the MSM has some terrible ideas, in anyone’s eyes. I may not like what you say, but I’ll defend your right to say it with all malice.
“I may not like what you say, but I’ll defend your right to say it”
you completely misunderstand the situation. it’s not that they don’t want counterviews on their personal private property, it’s that they don’t want counterviews ANYWHERE. because, you see, they think everything everywhere is their personal private property, and either you work for them or you’re vermin to be eliminated from their personal private property.
Daisy, you recommend people posting anything online not let the world know where they live. You do know that at the bottom of the email you send to us subscribers shows a street address for Luther, Inc in Casper, Wyoming, right?
The FCC requires all email newsletters have a physical address. That’s a post office box in the state where my office is located.
Haha. They wouldn’t know democracy if it slapped them upside the head.
“They wouldn’t know democracy if it slapped them upside the head”
yes they do. they know exactly what it is. it’s just that their version of it does not include anyone but themselves. does the farmer let his cattle vote? neither will they let you have any say, and for exactly precisely the same reason.
I have like 3 min. Will watch this video later. But I can say that STUFF is getting stupider by the hour. That we even are having this conversation about this topic is stupid. Please don’t get me wrong I appreciate all you do Daisy. It’s not YOU. It’s Americans that are sitting on their hands doing nothing about all our freedoms being stripped fro. Is on a daily basis. I was looking into Parker but stopped when it said they want a pic of my drivers license. No thanks. That’s JUST like the left!. If I’m sounding pissy it’s because I am. I’m scared to death for my kids and grand kids in regard to this whole hot mess of a country/world we are living in. And I’m scared for you all too. God is in control of it all but it dosent help me on a feeling level today. This whole vaccine thing has me all up in arms today. Not taking it. Thanks for listening. I appreciate all of you and this forum.❤
You don’t have to upload your driver’s license. The only reason you’d need to do that is if you want a “verified” badge on your account. That is important for someone who is using it heavily, running websites, and has a bigger audience so that people can’t make fake versions of your account. But if you are a casual user, I don’t think being verified is important at all.
“God is in control”
he must not like us much ….
You’ve convinced me, while I do follow people on Twitter, I’ve never joined FaceBorg nor ever will, I will indeed see you over on Parler. I’m a Tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist myself!
Remember what Marcuse says in his essay ‘Repressive Tolerance’. Couple this article with the re-definition of Socialism as ‘Democracy’ and things become interesting. Then change the definition of ‘news’ from information presentation to mechanism of delivery and society turns into the mess we now experience
Facebook started out being a place for “free and open” communications. Parler wants too much information so I’ll continue to stay away. In 5 years they could be just like Facebook.
“Parler wants too much information”
“the best way to control the opposition is to lead it” ….
Daisy, you had to give Facebook a pic of your drivers license ?! Why? I didn’t have to do that. I wont do Parler either if they want it. What about MeWe? I haven’t checked into it yet, but know a few people who have accounts.
Because of the reach of my page – they took it down two years ago saying that I had to prove I wasn’t a “foreign entity” trying to “influence the election.” That was sufficient until last year at which point they demanded even more personal information, which I refused to supply.
by all seriousness rasism is a problem and not a joke. but honestly it is going too far when aunt Jemimas pancakes are rasist. they were created decades ago by a black woman. when regular food becomes rasist or having a good job(that you worked to get) is rasist. Or pretty much not being XYZ is racist, but a person of colour looting and burning and spewing hatred is just expression… Just saying there is more going on behind the scenes to divide us. I am not really on either side but I am not comfortable with the blatant and ever increasing censorship and labeling anything against the globalists views as rasist. Questioning a rushed to market vaccine as anti-science. Or questioning any narrative whatsoever as conspiracy theories. It seems to be a lot of controlling of the people going on… Just whom is benefiting from this great reset I hear of? hint: not we the people
Good post Aileen.
No Aileen, check your facts. The “Aunt Jemima” brand was not created by a black woman. It was actually created by two white men who picked that name because it was the name in a popular song in a minstrel show in the late 1800’s. They hired a portly black lady (Nancy Green) to dress up in stereotypical “mammy” type clothes to demonstrate their pancake mix at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.. Her image and that of later black actresses were used over the years in ads and on packaging to sell the products.
There are TWO Great Resets. The Globalite one will turn humans into labelled zombies. That’s is the one you have heard of and you are right to fear it. I would want the entire planet obliterated rather than a totally mindless “future.”
The current system is unsustainable, meaning nothing can save it whatever we want. There WILL be a great reset.
The one you want is called NESARA for USA and GESARA globally. The elites have worked amazingly hard to prevent you finding out. Look them up.
Look them up–that is something you can DO right now to help bring about desired outcomes in this worldwide apocalypse.
I won’t join anything that requires my ID. I will look at Parlar. I believe in free spwach but its easy to see it and other constitutional freedoms evaporating away quickly.
MSM is the threat.
@Alt,
Since MSM abandon their journalistic integrity, and objectivity for journalistic activism you are right.
Trump once said that MSM was the enemy of the American people . . . MSM has proven him right by their own actions.
I dont use social media like Fakebook, or Twitter. This site might be the closest I get to social media.
Seems to me the division we have seen in society is growing, but on the social media platforms.
Two divided, different realities.
Take a given story of any kind and we will see two entirely different points of view.
Be nice if we could of done it in a open, face to face, civil discussion. But there are those whom believe that Free Speech is Hate Speech. Or Silence is Violence.
Unfortunately the lengths some have gone in their fights against Hate Speech is bordering on the totalitarianism we read about in Orwell’s 1984.
As more alternative platforms become available, or more popular with a certain swath of America, I would not be surprised if some yahoo in Congress tries to pass a law to create a new bureaucratic agency to control information, news, entertainment, education, and the arts. They could call it something grandiose, like The Ministry of Truth.
To those who want a pure democracy – democracy is two lambs and a wolf deciding what’s for dinner. I may join Parler, if only to give them a little more support and viewership. I’m not a huge social media sort but I think it would be good to support a group that is trying to be an alternative. Vote with my dollars, vote with my clicks, vote with my ad revenue.
Regarding the far Left, the biggest problem I see is that they are convinced that they are right and pure and good and holy and have a just cause, and therefore ANYTHING they do is right and proper. At best, they view those who disagree with them as misguided fools in need of re-education. At worst, they see their opponents as inhuman, as THE ENUMEY, KILL IT WITH FIRE. That kind of extremist thinking is not only distasteful, it’s extremely dangerous. We can’t assume that rationality will sway them.
I know this because I used to be a left-winger, back before they were quite so bad, and I recognize the thought processes. At this point I just want to live and let live, and be able to have my diversity over here where it doesn’t bother anyone. That isn’t good enough for them though. I must be absorbed or destroyed. Well, I say no.
@Redbranch,
Good points.
Funny, those whom are considered to be conservative/right, what do we really want: To live our lives with minimal government intrusion, pay lower taxes and generally be left alone to live our lives as we see fit.
The left, they seem to want pervasive government intrusion into everyone life, more taxes to pay for everyones lifestyle, and dictate how everyone lives their lives, from cradle to grave.
And some people are okay with that.
democracy is sheep deciding which wolf gets to eat which sheep first……
so-called conservatives and so-called liberals (“the left”) are just progressives: folks who look to government to resolve their concerns…..
Awful lot of us crazy racists out there, apparently.
Keep in mind folks that words that incite violence or amount to “fighting words” are not protected speech under the First Amendment. If posters on Parler incite violence or utter “fighting words”, it is very likely they will eventually be banned from Parler also. Differences of opinion are fine and should be welcomed in a free society but remember Freedom of Speech does NOT mean that you can legally say anything you d*mn well please, no matter how violent, inflammatory, fraudulent, and defamatory it might be.
At the risk of getting canceled for disagreeing, that’s not actually true. The fighting words element has only come up in a few cases at .law, all of which have been personal cases and several decades ago for the most recent one I’ve ever heard of. Please show me and others, where is the exception for “hate speech” ( a term which did not exist before the 1990’s) in the constitution and the bill of rights? Oh, right, you can’t, because those terrible racist land owningf white nazi slave owning Christian theocrat founding patriarchs didn’t include one…(did I get all the Social Justice buzzwords right? I wouldn’t want to offend anyone by using language incorrectly).
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
No exceptions I can see in there. The various and several states of the disUnion follow the same template. This idea that there is some magic law against hate speech is pure vapourware, a fantasy for fascists who don’t want to admit that THEY are the fascists.
Leave me alone, don’t tell me how to talk, what I can and cannot say, who I can and cannot associate with, or who I have to associate with,and I will leave you alone. Cross any of those lines, I will make it my mission in life to make the person crossing those red lines wish they had never done so. It’s a simple philosophy which conservatives and libertarians used to follow. Sadly, very few have the strength of character, or the smarts anymore to live by that, and we as a nation suffer for it.
Also, unfortunately not enough of us have the sense to say “Nope! I don’t need social(ist) media. Not joining. FOr that reason, Daisy, (and no offense intended) as much as I love your site, and the articles you write, I will not be seeing you on Parler, or Gab, or any other social media. I may sign up for your forum, but mostly, I have too much other stuff to do, and I’m a terribly slow typist, LOL!
Dear Zabeth, Would you not agree that people have the Constitutional right to speak their mind when they are with like minded people? It’s only when a single liberal interloper injects their liberal views into the conversation that it’s a problem. They get triggered and cry racism or any of the other progressive buzzwords that anybody pays attention and spotlight it for the minions that follow the democrat mass media propaganda machine. Orange. Man. Bad. Quite pathetic in my opinion. Gosh my beliefs don’t fit the narrative of the Anti-American crowd that want to give every person in this country equity, legal or illegal. To hell with being a Nation of laws. Make America a third world country. Too D*mn bad right Zabeth? Do you think the Founding Fathers should have been censored/banned for speaking their minds against the tyrannical King George upon the platform that they had available back in their time period? We would not have a Constitutional Representative Republic if that were so. With a biden Presidency I hate to see what will happen with our rights under the Constitution. There will be NO compromise with the democrat progressive socialists in this country… EVER . That is NOT the American way. Have a nice evening Zabeth.
No Glenn, I do not agree. In our modern society, speech that incites violence will potentially land you in jail (and banned from social media outlets) regardless of whether you utter the words to “like minded” people or to people who disagree with your views. Like minded people, of course, would probably be less likely to report you for what you say 😉
Parler whether it succeeds or fails needs to be a statement to the maniacal Oligarchy that they havent corrupted all the people and that the ability to discern and debate is alive and well with some of us
***Mainstream Media Thinks Parler Is a “Threat to Democracy” ***
.
They are right, but since we are not a democracy I don’t see a problem.
After using Instagram to reach out to conservatives by giving information on how the contact information of each disputed states representatives, I was locked out from Nov 7th until Nov. 12th. That pushed me to join Parler. I’m still getting used to it and will use your suggestions. I’m sick of the tech companies as are most Americans.
“Safe space” is a liberal phrase. Freedom of speech is in the Constitution.
Before you folks dive in head over heels for Parler you need to investigate it. First of all they want a picture of the front and back of your ID. Secondly, the following comes from their User Agreement.
5. You grant to Parler a license to any content posted by you to the Services,
including a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense)
to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and
distribute your content. You agree that Parler or its service providers or partners may
display advertising in connection with your content and otherwise monetize your
content without compensation to you. You warrant that you have all rights necessary
to grant these rights to Parler and Parler users. You also grant a limited non-exclusive,
royalty-free license to any user of the Services to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt,
modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute any content posted by you to the
Services solely in connection with that users use of the Services. The licenses granted
by you hereunder do not include any moral rights or right of attribution.
As I have explained repeatedly, you only have to provide your license if you want a verified account. Most people opted out of getting a verified account. I verified mine because I run a business via social media and I don’t want someone pretending to be me and spreading information I don’t endorse using my name.
You only have to show ID to be “verified.”
And in the article, I mentioned the fact that if you are getting something for free, you are the product. How do you expect a platform of that size to keep running without monetization?
Parler demands not only an e.mail address but a telephone number; hence, I will not join.