MANILA, Philippines – American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is set to buy conservative social media platform Parler. The announcement was made through the official Parler account on the platform on Monday, October 17, Manila time.

“[Parler parent company] Parlement Technologies is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement in principle for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, to acquire the Parler platform. The acquisition ensures Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome,” it said.

Parler chief executive officer George Farmer was also quoted as saying: “This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again.”

The move comes more than a week after Ye’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were banned over anti-Semitic posts. Before his Instagram account was suspended, he accused a musician of being controlled by “the Jewish people.”

On Twitter, Ye posted a photo of himself with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying, “Look at this Mark How you gone kick me off instagram.”

“You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” West then tweeted.

Parler was founded in 2018, calling itself “unbiased social media,” and rose amid content moderation performed by mainstream social media platforms to curb content that may lead to harm. It drew backing from supporters of former US president Donald Trump, and hosts accounts for politicians and figures from the American conservative.

The app was removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in January 2021 for the supposed involvement of its users in the January 6 US Capitol riot. It was reinstated on the App Store in May 2021, and on the Play Store in September 2022. – Rappler.com