Parler was a small, yet viable, platform for conservatives. I used it. But it also contained extremist ramblings from the conspiracy theory Right. Some of those musings were flat out crazy and should have been spiked. They weren’t. As such, their CEO got sacked by the Board. Normal course of business, as opposed to the course of rampant ideology.

Close

Fox Business: “Parler has terminated CEO John Matze, according to a memo Matze sent to staffers that has been obtained by Fox News. Parler, a social media app that was widely embraced by Trump supporters because it favored free speech, saw a spike in users following Twitter’s permanent suspension of President Trump. Parler has been down since Amazon Web Services cut it off and was expected to relaunch before the beginning of February but things were delayed. A Parler insider told Fox News the delay was caused by new branding and changes occurring within the company for the sake of stability.”

The former Parler CEO had this comment. “On January 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler. I did not participate in this decision,” Matze wrote. “I understand that those who now control the company have made some communications to employees and other third parties that have unfortunately created confusion and prompted me to make this public statement. Over the past few months, I’ve met constant resistance to my product vision, my strong belief in free speech and my view of how the Parler site should be managed. For example, I advocated for more product stability and what I believe is a more effective approach to content moderation.” It sounds like Matze put ideology over business. In his former position as a CEO that’s a non starter. No wonder the board sacked him.

“I have worked endless hours and fought constant battles to get the Parler site running but at this point, the future of Parler is no longer in my hands,” Matze continued. “I want to thank the Parler employees, the people on Parler and Parler supporters for their tireless work and devotion to the company. They are an amazing group of diverse, hardworking and talented individuals and I have the utmost respect for them. Many of them have become my second family.” The self pity at the beginning of that part of the statement didn’t do Matze any favors. Where is he going from here?

“I’ll be looking for new opportunities where my technical acumen, vision and the causes I am passionate about will be required and respected,” he wrote. “I want to thank all the people of Parler that supported me and the platform. This has been the true American Dream: an idea from a living room to a company of considerable value. I’m not saying goodbye, just so long for now.” Next time Matze, play it smarter. Modern martyrs have a short shelf life.