During a Saturday interview segment, CNN White House correspondent Pamela Brown called a conservative shift from Twitter and Facebook to alternatives, such as Parler, a “threat to democracy.”
Brown’s comments came after CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said the trend of conservatives and “especially Trump voters” moving away from Twitter and Facebook to new platforms like Parler is “not good for the country.”
The Washington Examiner tweeted a clip of the interview segment, “.@brianstelter: ‘Conservatives are saying they’re leaving Twitter and Facebook going off 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.’ @PamelaBrownCNN: ‘It’s a threat to democracy.'”
.@brianstelter: “Conservatives are saying they’re leaving Twitter and Facebook going off 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.”@PamelaBrownCNN: “It’s a threat to democracy.” pic.twitter.com/0hNiJi52Mk
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 14, 2020
“I think, big picture, Pamela, here is the concerning trend line here. People are going more and more into their own echo chambers, more into their own bubbles, especially Trump voters,” Stelter said. “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 off to Parler because they believe Parler is a safer space for them.”
Stelter went on to say, “What we’re seeing is even more of a bunker mentality in right-wing media. Ultimately, that’s not good for the country.”
“No, it is not good,” Brown responded. “It is a threat to democracy that these people are in echo chambers and they’re getting fed a diet of lies essentially.”
A new, quickly growing social media platform focused on free-speech, Parler was founded in 2018 by John Matze and Jared Thomson. On its App Store profile, Parler describes itself as a “non-biased, free speech” social media platform “focused on protecting user’s rights.”
Concerns of social media giants Twitter and Facebook censoring conservative speech has increased in recent months amid the contentious 2020 election between President Donald Trump and Democrat candidate Joe Biden.
In October, the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans held a hearing compelling Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify regarding censorship of The New York Post’s story on the Democrat presidential candidate’s son and an alleged hard drive revealing illicit activity involving Ukraine and China.
During the hearing, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked Dorsey to name “one high-profile person or entity from a liberal ideology” who has been censored or had actions taken against them on Twitter. Dorsey claimed Twitter had taken action against Democrat members of the House, but could not explicitly name a single one.
“Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being ‘deplatformed’ for your views,” Parler’s website promises. “Engage with real people, not bots. Parler is people and privacy-focused, and gives you the tools you need to curate your Parler experience.”
