Parler CEO John Matze was fired from the company’s board of directors last week in a decision the social media platform hoped to keep secret until Wednesday, when Fox News obtained a memo that he sent to employees explaining because he was deposed – but Fox News contributor and Parler co Owner Dan Bongino doesn’t agree with Matze’s explanation.
“It’s time to correct the record, Parler CEO John Matze, he was fired, by Parler’s board, but the story you’re hearing is unfortunately not correct,” said Bongino of a letter that Matze sent to employees of Parler that was first obtained by Fox News.
PARLER CEO JOHN MATZE SAYS IT WAS ENDED BY THE COUNCIL: ‘I DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS DECISION’
Matze noted that “the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO” and that he “did not participate in that decision”.
Matze wrote that in the past few months he has encountered “constant resistance” to his original view of the social media platform after Amazon Web Services’ decision to shut down Parler for not moderating “shocking content” related to the January 6 Capitol Riot.
“In the past few months, I have encountered constant resistance to my product view, my strong belief in freedom of expression and my view of how the Parler site should be managed. For example, I have advocated more product stability and what I believe is a more effective for moderating content, “wrote Matze.
Parler did not respond to several requests for comment.
PARLER’S CEO SAYS THE PLATFORM WILL ‘GO STRONG’ WITH CHANGES TO KEEP USERS SAFE WHILE RESPECTING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Bongino did not agree with Matze’s narrative and went to Facebook to record a video detailing his side of the story.
“This is the real story, so you have it and don’t believe the hype,” said Bongino, noting that Matze portrays himself as an advocate for freedom of expression.
“Guys, this is not necessary, these statements are his, not mine. I have no personal complaints against John, the CEO, in any way, I want to be very clear, but John decided to make this public, not us, we were dealing with it like gentlemen, “said Bongino.
“It was we who, in fact, struggled to bring Parler back. There were some very bad decisions made by insiders, and listen, it’s not us doing dirty laundry. This is protecting a company that is absolutely committed to freedom of expression, I put the last year of my life in. Do you really believe that someone else was on the side of free speech? “
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Parler, a social media application widely adopted by Trump supporters because it favored free speech, saw an increase in the number of users after President Trump’s permanent suspension on Twitter. But the site has been down since Amazon Web Services cut it and was expected to restart before the beginning of February, but things have been delayed.
A Parler source told Fox News that the delay was caused by new brands and changes within the company in favor of stability.
Parler fired CEO John Matze.
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Matze recently emerged as a mandatory guest of the conservative media amid the chaos surrounding his company being taken down by Amazon, appearing regularly on news to defend freedom of expression.
However, Bongino said there were “two different views for the company” and the “freedom of expression view” that originated from Bongino and other company owners. Bongino has repeatedly stated throughout the video that Matze’s version of the events is not accurate.
“I am very upset right now,” said Bongino. “The relationship with Parler and the CEO didn’t work out because the CEO’s vision was not ours. Everyone was clear on that? Our vision was crystal clear. We needed to stand up and fight, some terrible decisions were made in the past, which led us to be rejected by Amazon and others. “
In addition to Amazon, Google and Apple suspended Parler at their respective app stores.
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Bongino said that Parler could have started working again if he gave in to Silicon Valley, which wanted him so strongly moderate that he would be “on the left” of Twitter.
“That is not what we are going to do. We do not want garbage on our website either, and we have taken the appropriate steps to do that. But we are a free speech website and we will remain so,” said Bongino.