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Warning for Parents: Parler inappropriate and dangerous for minors [Already trying to kill it]
https://parentstogetheraction.org ^ | 11/20/20 | Staff

Posted on 11/20/2020 12:16:18 PM PST by Red Badger

Parler, a social networking app that markets itself as “non-biased, free speech social media focused on protecting user’s rights,” has experienced a spike in popularity in the past two weeks, with roughly one million people downloading the app within a few days of the Nov. 3 election.

Users who were upset that large social networks like Facebook and Twitter had taken minor steps to reduce election disinformation propelled Parler to the top of the app download charts on both Google Play and the iOS App Store. As a result, as of November 18, the app is prominently displayed in both app stores, resulting in increased exposure and downloads.

Parents should know that due to Parler’s dangerous combination of an extremist user base and almost non-existent moderation of content, hate speech, incitements to violence and disinformation about the election results are pervasive on the platform.

ParentsTogether urges all parents of children under age 18 to immediately check their kids’ phones and tablets to ensure that their children have not installed Parler. If your child has installed Parler, we strongly recommend that you delete their account and the app.

The fact that Parler does not require users to share their age or birth date during the app sign-up process makes it even more important for parents to proactively check their children’s devices.

Below, we have briefly outlined some of the factors that make Parler unsuitable and unsafe for minors.

Incitements to violence and calls for a civil war

On Parler, there are frequent posts explicitly calling for targeted political violence and civil war in response to Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

As of November 18, hashtags like #civilwar, #civilwar2 and #civilwarifnecessary had been used more than 8,000 times on Parler, representing just a small fraction of the posts calling for political violence.

Examples of such posts include:

A post from user @WayneDupreeShow – an account with 485,000 followers – with the text, “I would rather give up what I have and fight a civil war than allow these liberal pieces of crap to win by stealing the election. Evil has gotten out of hand and it is time to take out the garbage.” A post from user @NMProudBoys with the hashtags #civilwar and #democratshateamerica and the text, “why are we not just eliminating these psychos?” A post from user @Mountmainman78629 with the text, “To me, the easiest fix is every conservative kill 2 liberals. I’m sure most everyone knows one or 2. If we all killed 2 in a single day there would be so many dead but no one alive would give a damn.” A post from user @DonHo with the text, “Go to the range and practice. We’re going to need #patriots who can hit a mark under pressure. #CivilWar is coming and it won’t be fought online. Countless posts calling for Pres. Barack Obama to be killed.

Hate speech, antisemitism and Islamophobia

From anti-Black racism and anti-Semitism to Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry, Parler is rife with hate speech.

Examples of such posts include:

A post from user @MarijaMandic with the text, “let’s get that stupid n***** b*tch out of the VPs office.” A post from user @TheLastStronghold, which has Nazi insignia as its avatar, with the hashtags #whitesupremacy, #jewsarenotwhite and #hitlerwasright, and the text, “talk with others like you.” A post from user @Bitchute calling the Holocaust a “profitable hoax.” A post from user @WillyWilliams with the hashtag #muslimsareinvaders and an image with photos of Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, and others, and the text, “what in the HELL are all these MUSLIMS doing in our WHITE HOUSE? A post from user @NeoPineal with an image of a white woman and the text, “I’m this pretty because both of my parents are white.”

Disinformation

Parler has quickly become a hotbed of disinformation on the results of the 2020 presidential election and COVID-19, among other topics.

A few examples include:

The #StopTheSteal hashtag, which has become a rallying cry among conspiracy theorists, had been used more than 200,000 times on Parler as of November 18. The false claim that Wisconsin had more votes than the number of people registered to vote, which has been amplified by Rush Limbaugh, originated on Parler. The #covid19hoax, #covidhoax and #covidhoax2020 hashtags had been used more than 30,000 times on Parler as of November 18, including countless posts like this one from user @petrafiednews promoting unproven medical treatments.

Violent extremist user base

Parler’s prominent users include a who’s who of white supremacists, violent extremists and conspiracy theorists, many of whom have been banned from mainstream social media platforms for their bigotry, lies and incitements to violence. Such prominent Parler users include Proud Boys, Qanon, Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, Infowars, David Duke, Laura Loomer and VDARE.

As The Bulwark reported in June – well before Parler’s surge in popularity – ”most of the available user names containing the N-word have already been taken.”

Weak and Unenforced Moderation Policies

While other social media platforms ostensibly try to crack down on dangerous disinformation, Parler – which was created as a safe space for propagators of disinformation – actively encourages it. This is reflected in the app’s community guidelines (PDF), which specify that “in no case will Parler decide what content will be removed or filtered, or whose account will be removed, on the basis of the opinion expressed within the content at issue.”

The community guidelines prohibit the app from being used as a “tool for crime, civil torts, or other unlawful acts,” but they do not explicitly address violence, bigotry, racism, hate speech, or disinformation and an overwhelming amount of content on the site that encourages this behavior is allowed to flourish.

In a separate document entitled “elaboration on guidelines,” (PDF) the company specifies that it prohibits “defamation, sexualization of minors, nudity and pornography, indecency involving violence, gore and other graphic content, threats of violence, advocacy of imminent lawless action, threats to dox, bribery or criminal Solicitation.” However, as noted in the examples above, explicitly violent and hateful content remains largely unmoderated.

This is likely due to the fact that Parler “relies upon its community members to report violations” to a “Parler community jury” (PDF) made up of volunteer community members, rather than paid employees specifically tasked with enforcing the guidelines.

In addition to the problematic content outlined above, we know that dangerous content like child sexual abuse material (CSAM), child trafficking solicitations and terrorist recruitment thrives on unmoderated and loosely moderated platforms like Parler. ParentsTogether is concerned that, absent major changes to Parler’s community guidelines, moderation and enforcement, Parler will become a safe haven for such content and the individuals who seek to distribute it.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bidenvoters; bigtech; parents; parler; siliconvalley; togetheraction; twitter
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1 posted on 11/20/2020 12:16:18 PM PST by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Bless their hearts :)

There’s never any threats on twitter.

It’s all peace and love over there :)


2 posted on 11/20/2020 12:17:34 PM PST by dp0622 (Tried a coup, a fake tax story, tramp slander, Russia nonsense, impeachment and a virus. They lost.)
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To: Red Badger

Smells like a bunch of leftist provocateurs are joining P@rler and posting extremist false-flag murderous crap.


3 posted on 11/20/2020 12:18:07 PM PST by rfp1234 (Caveat Emperor)
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To: Red Badger

LOL


4 posted on 11/20/2020 12:18:21 PM PST by Irenic
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To: Red Badger

“Incitements to violence and calls for a civil war”

Wonder what Twitter has been doing for the last four years.


5 posted on 11/20/2020 12:18:39 PM PST by DEPcom
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To: Red Badger

Go ahead and try to keep the kids away from it: it’ll be even more cool than ever to download and post on it!


6 posted on 11/20/2020 12:18:45 PM PST by madprof98
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To: Red Badger

There is really NO social media totally safe for minors.


7 posted on 11/20/2020 12:19:13 PM PST by madison10 (Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good.)
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To: Red Badger

I am sure that free and thoughtful speech is very difficult for progressive parents to understand.


8 posted on 11/20/2020 12:19:19 PM PST by Chgogal (#StopBiden'sBananaRepublic. )
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To: rfp1234
Smells like a bunch of leftist provocateurs are joining P@rler and posting extremist false-flag murderous crap.

Yep, that's the problem with anything that's unmoderated, I predicted it would happen to Parler. As they say, "This is why we can't have nice things."

9 posted on 11/20/2020 12:20:11 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Red Badger

So go on yourself, chose carefully the other eople you want to follow and enjoy the conversations.


10 posted on 11/20/2020 12:20:14 PM PST by McGavin999 (Justice delayed is justice denied.)
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To: Red Badger

Facebook is certainly looking out for our best interests.....whether we want them to or not


11 posted on 11/20/2020 12:20:14 PM PST by South Dakota (This is what I do. I drink and I know things)
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To: dp0622

Gotta make sure their kids stay in the Statist Playground, so their pure thoughts are only filled in by what the state wants them to know.

Indoctrination of The Children is oh-so-important. Can’t have it polluted by those they disagree with.


12 posted on 11/20/2020 12:20:15 PM PST by rlmorel ("Leftism is the plaything of a society with too much time on its hands." - Candace Owens)
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To: Red Badger

ParentsTogether is a far-left organization, yes?


13 posted on 11/20/2020 12:20:57 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: rlmorel

Nope! There are 32 genders and men can get pregnant :-)

And there are a lot of kids college age who really believe that. Too terrifying


14 posted on 11/20/2020 12:22:07 PM PST by dp0622 (Tried a coup, a fake tax story, tramp slander, Russia nonsense, impeachment and a virus. They lost.)
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To: Red Badger

Twitter is infested with XXX adult content and gory images so I would say Twitter is unsuitable for any audience.


15 posted on 11/20/2020 12:22:09 PM PST by Intar
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To: BenLurkin

Yeah, because Twitter is absolutely porn free and 100% safe....right?


16 posted on 11/20/2020 12:22:18 PM PST by suasponte137
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To: Red Badger

This is an anti-Trump front. One of the articles in their “Latest News” page is titled “NEW STUDY: Parents Angry About Voting Disinformation from Trump, Determined to Vote Anyway”.

https://parentstogetheraction.org/2020/10/20/new-study-parents-angry-about-voting-disinformation-from-trump-determined-to-vote-anyway/


17 posted on 11/20/2020 12:22:39 PM PST by Ebenezer (Strength and Honor!)
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To: Red Badger

I can understand child exploitation being blocked...but patriotism? Different thoughts from your own..politically?

Most kids couldn’t care less anout elections and politics.

But I agree with the idea that if something bothers you as a parent..then deal with it as you need to. Pay attention to where your kids are going on line and who they’re talking to.


18 posted on 11/20/2020 12:23:20 PM PST by PrairieLady2 (Replacing Trump with Biden is like shitting your pants then changing your shirt.)
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To: Red Badger

If they are against it, I am for it.
Parler is a competitor. Trashing the new guy on the block is normal.
Does anyone believe the accusations?


19 posted on 11/20/2020 12:23:30 PM PST by BatGuano (Ya don't think I'd go into combat with loose change in my pocket, do Ya? Nunc Bibendum)
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To: Red Badger

Teach ... your children well.


20 posted on 11/20/2020 12:24:19 PM PST by loucon (Quarintine by choice is freedom. Quarintine by mandate is ... well you know ... that thing ... )
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