Parler, the social media platform partial to the far right, has dismissed its CEO John Matze, according to several media outlets.
Matze confirmed the decision in a text to Reuters, which was originally reported by Fox News.
Parler CEO John Matze said he was fired on Friday by the social-media platform's board https://t.co/o4cZbVzl2N
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 4, 2021
“I did not participate in this decision,” the 27-year-old co-founder said. “I’m not saying goodbye, just so long for now.”
Matze said conservative political donor Rebekah Mercer, who controls Parler’s board, terminated his position last week.
Parler, which was founded in 2018, has styled itself as a “free speech-driven” platform. The site says it grew to 15 million users in the months after the presidential election as more mainstream platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, increasingly cracked down on falsehoods and misinformation.
However, the social network found itself deplatformed as a result of the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Apple and Google removed the app from their app stores after being unsatisfied with the company’s attempts to moderate the spread of calls for violence.
