London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Parler attracted senior members of the UK government before it shut down, according to reports

Parler attracted senior members of the UK government before it shut down, according to reports

More than a dozen politicians from the UK's right-wing ruling Conservative party had joined Parler before the social network went offline, according to The Observer.

Around 14 Tory lawmakers had profiles on the app, including senior figures such as Michael Gove, Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, and foreign minister James Cleverly, the newspaper reported Sunday.

Other MPs on the app included Ben Bradley, who has frequently run into trouble for his Twitter posts, and Brexiter Steve Baker, the newspaper reported.

The findings imply that concerns about mainstream tech platforms taking action against misinformation are not limited to US conservatives.

Amazon removed Parler, which bills itself as a "free speech" alternative to Twitter, from its web servers last week, knocking the service offline. Both Apple and Google also removed the app from their stores.

Some members of the mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6 had reportedly organized on Parler and Twitter. Some Parler users called for "bloodshed" during the siege.

The app hadn't done enough to moderate such content, according to both Google and Apple.

"In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app's listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues," a Google spokesperson told Insider at the time.

Parler filed a lawsuit against Amazon on competition grounds, and said in a Friday court filing that its CEO John Matze fled his home after receiving death threats.

In the US, conservative politicians and commentators also found an audience on the network.

"Apple and Google have now removed the Parler App. Welcome to political censorship! Spread the word so your fellow Americans know about this," wrote Rep. Devin Nunes, in a Parler post seen by more than 3 million users, before the network went offline.


Parler CEO John Matze and President Donald Trump, who allegedly considered making an account on the controversial social-media platform.


President Donald Trump also considered creating an account, according to a court filing.

As early as June 2020, The Critic magazine identified a number of UK conservative commentators and politicians on Parler, including Gove and Baker.

At the time, Baker explained to the magazine why he'd joined.

He said there "seemed to be a demand" for MPs on the network, and that the site had stronger moderation than he'd expected.

Baker told The Critic: "My hope is that competition and innovation from Parler may inspire Facebook and Twitter to implement features to exclude hateful words from our timelines and post comments."

When it was live, Parler called itself "the world's town square."

New users landed on a homepage that read: "Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being "deplatformed" for your views. Engage with real people, not bots. Parler is people and privacy-focused, and gives you the tools you need to curate your Parler experience."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×