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Kanye West abandons bid for Parler

The log of social media website Parler. (Image: Handout/Graphic by The Desk)

Social media platform Parler said on Thursday it has reached an agreement with musician Kanye “Ye” West to terminate a pending sales agreement between the two parties.

The dissolution of the deal comes nearly two months after Parler said it had a handshake agreement with West to acquire the platform, which has found favor with conservatives and right-wing conspiracy theorists who feel they are unwelcome on traditional social media services. The Desk was the first news publication to report the acquisition.

Financial terms of the deal were never disclosed, and it was not clear if the acquisition was ever finalized beyond a press release announcing West was going to buy Parler. The deal reportedly came together several days after West was suspended from Twitter for several anti-Semitic remarks. West’s Twitter account was restored in November.

Around the same time West returned to Twitter, Parler said the two sides reached a decision that would end the musician’s involvement in acquiring the service.

“Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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