Parler, the alternative social media platform favored by many far-right users for its negligent approach to moderating content, seemed to experience an interruption on Friday night.
Dozens of platform users tweeted that they were unable to access Parler’s website and app.
Parler did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Reports of Parler’s fall coincided with reports that Apple threatened to ban Parler from its App Store amid complaints that it was used to “plan, coordinate and facilitate” the uprising of violent loyalists to Trump on Wednesday in Washington, DC .
But Apple said it gave Parler 24 hours to resolve violations of App Store policies, so the outage is unlikely to be linked to Apple’s warning.
The interruption reports also came amid Twitter’s decision to ban Trump from the platform permanently “due to the risk of further incitement to violence”.
Users of Gab, another social media platform that exploded as major sites cracked down on misinformation, hate speech and glorification of violence, also reported I was having problems.
Sites like Parler and Gab have gained prominence in recent months, as major social media sites face increasing pressure to crack down on hate speech, misinformation and calls for violence.
After the United States presidential election in November, Trump supporters gathered on alternative social networks, including Parler, to plan election protests after Facebook and other sites banned groups promoting unmasked conspiracy theories. From November 3 to 9, Parler was downloaded about 530,000 times in the United States, according to data from Apptopia.
While a pro-Trump crowd was violently taking over the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in an attack that left five dead, armed protesters used Parler and other conservative-oriented social media apps to organize themselves. Apptopia told Business Insider that Parler’s downloads increased to about 323% of their average weekly volume in October.
“Stay strong !!! Keep the land you’ve won. Don’t give up what we have,” wrote a user of Parler, who used the nickname “Noble Beard Immortal” and identified himself as a Proud Boy.
Many responded with posts marked #revolution, #fightback, #firingsquad and #civilwar. Others spread rumors that the antifa was behind the crowd.
“Content of this dangerous and harmful nature is not appropriate for the App Store. As you know from previous conversations with the App Review, Apple requires that applications with user-generated content be moderated effectively to ensure that objectionable and potentially harmful content be filtered, “said Apple Parler, according to BuzzFeed News, adding:” Content that threatens the well-being of others or is intended to incite violence or other illegal acts has never been acceptable on the App Store. “