Parler Reportedly Backed by Mercers, Same Family That Funded Cambridge Analytica – By Christina Zhao (Newsweek) / Nov 14 2020
Hedge-fund investor Robert Mercer, former principal investor in the now-defunct Cambridge Analytica, and his daughter Rebekah Mercer are among Parler’s financial backers, according to a new report.
People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal about the Mercers’ ties to Parler—an American microblogging and social networking service launched in 2018 that has a significant user base of Trump supporters. Parler CEO John Matze confirmed that Rebekah Mercer was a lead investor in the early stages of the company and that her funding was conditional on the app relinquishing control to users on what they can see.
In the aftermath of Election Day, Parler was the most downloaded app on Android and Apple for most of last week, according to the Journal. Its rise in popularity doubled the platform’s user base to 10 million in less than seven days.
This illustration picture shows the social media website from Parler displayed on a computer screen in Arlington, Virginia on July 2, 2020.
OLIVIER DOULIERY/GETTY
Rebekah Mercer explained on the app that she launched Parler with Matze to “provide a neutral platform for free speech, as our founders intended.”
