14 ms·
Parler partially reappears with support from Russian technology firm
- sethgoodluck 6y agoNow 2021 is shaping up to be one interesting year... thoughts folks?
- Triv888 6y agoFree speech, from Russia...
- sethgoodluck 6y agoAnd my-oh-my the political leverage is colossal
- awb 6y agoRussia isn’t pro free speech, they’re pro internal US conflict.
- notsureaboutpg 6y agoThey also sheltered Snowden... Not sure what to think
- gedy 6y agoThe irony
- threeseed 6y agoFree speech, so long as it agrees with the Putin government. Otherwise you will likely end up poisoned like Navalny or happen to fall off a balcony like so many Russian journalists.
- im3w1l 6y agoIt's pretty amusing. To quote an (in)famous xkcd. The private companies told the Right they were assholes and showed them the door. And now Russia is stretching out a hand and saying: you are welcome in my house. And of course the Left is upset. The Right were supposed to become friendless losers with imaginary friends[0]! Not befriend other people! That's cheating! [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25817605 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25817605
- Gibbon1 6y agoThe rights new friends seem to have a tenancy to poison their political opponents with nerve agents.
- anewaccount2021 6y agothe US is becoming a risky place to host your infra. you can be deplatformed on a whim, as a result of petty internal ideological resistance anywhere in your supply chain. no infrastructure partner will go to bat for you, they'd rather forgo your money in favor of passing a regime's purity test you might also be subject to sweeping legislation that allows the US govt to act against you if you are not politically aligned if this continues, the US will be an unfavorable jurisdiction for infrastructure. its just easier to find a less charged environment where you have clarity
- klmadfejno 6y agoSomehow I think 99.9% of businesses will manage without giving it a second thought.
- zepto 6y agoWhich regime would you recommend?
- threeseed 6y agoAnywhere with a strong, independent legal system e.g. EU, Canada, Australia, Japan etc would never tolerate an app like Parler being used to incite an insurrection. Any countries without one e.g. China, Russia, Saudi Arabia would also not tolerate it as it could equally be used to incite an insurrection. So very curious where you think this "safe" place is in the world.
- dc2k08 6y agoTwitter and facebook tolerate the use of their apps to set up autonomous zones within american cities and incite users to riot, loot, commit arson and murder cops so why doesn't parler just use a similar hosting infrastructure to whatever they use?
- alphabettsy 6y agoI’ll pretend this is an argument in good faith and point out the explicit intent in the messages to commit crimes is the point. Organization of a protest that draws 100,000 where a small number commit crimes is much different than rallying 100,000 with the stated purpose of committing crimes.
- secretcombos 6y agoIn 2021, western democracy will continue to be attacked from within and from the outside. Especially with the US in pandemonium, Putin and the CCP will no doubt exploit the opportunity. Then there is the thought-policing of big tech and social media. 2021 is definitely shaping up to be a crucial year, a time when people need to wake up, get informed and defend freedom while they still have it.
- JKCalhoun 6y agoYou lost me at "thought-policing of big tech".
- King-Aaron 6y agoAmerican Nazis hosted by Communists Welcome to 2021
- killjoywashere 6y agoWhy is this anything other than direct foreign interference in the democratic process?
- luxuryballs 6y agoWhat does it have to do with the democratic process?
- Barrin92 6y agoit isn't, it's just that the US has basically no immune system to it. This is pretty much straight out of the active measures Soviet playbook. Hopefully the new administration pays some attention.
- notsureaboutpg 6y agoThis is going to be the new blasphemy laws. Anything anti-American will begin to be called "interfering with the democratic process"
- DeonPenny 6y agoEasy amazon interfered when it banned a app simple because of the poltical leanings of the people on its platform. Yet it would never ban youtube or twitter even when violent foreign extremist those to communicate with the world. Do you mean that part.
- plugger 6y agoThis seems less like an answer to the question and more a statement of your position. Amazon is domestic so it's kinda hard to accuse them of direct foreign interference.
- vkou 6y ago1. Twitter and YouTube are both full of conservative content. 2. The difference between Parler, Twitter, and Youtube is that the latter two moderate their content. 3. Parler was banned because it wouldn't moderate violent content. Your interpretation of events is incorrect. Even Parler, in their legal filings, are not claiming that they were silenced because they were a platform for conservative speech.
- crb002 6y agoPravda.
- JKCalhoun 6y agov Pravde net izvestiy, v Izvestiyakh net pravdy
- PradeetPatel 6y agoDespite being hosted in Russia, I suspect that it will be deplatformed by most app stores. Since no tech giants want to be associated with hate speech.
- acct776 6y agoGood call, considering they've already been.
- PixyMisa 6y agoHave you seen Twitter or Facebook?
- PradeetPatel 6y agoCall me ignorant if you will, but haven't they been deplatforming violent speeches lately?
- asdf333 6y agohttps://twitter.com/davetroy/status/1327257161739677697 https://twitter.com/davetroy/status/1327257161739677697 looks like there are some legit questions on Parler and its origins.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- strangattractor 6y agoWhat will happen if anti-Putin posts show up on Parler? Will the Parler CEO get poisoned or the site simply goes offline. Any bets?
- monadic3 6y agoFwiw, Putin has always allowed some measure of criticism. Which isn't to say he isn't a modern fascist, he completely is—but it's far easier to pretend you're democratic if there's openly documented criticism that is allowed. If this weren't the case, surely Pussy Riot would have been assassinated a long time ago.
- threeseed 6y agoThe words that come from the Parler CEO are very different to his actions. It's been rumoured (with very good sources) that he happily complied with FBI requests to turn over data. So it wouldn't surprise me if was more than happy to comply with whatever Putin wanted so long as it was kept quiet.
- rebuilder 6y agoNothing will happen as long as Parler isn't widely used in Russia. (I'm going on the assumption they're even actually hosted there.) The Russian M.O. seems to be to maximize chaos. I don't think they care about the details very much, and I doubt Putin cares one bit what random net-dwellers outside Russia say about him. He cares about: -Control in Russia -Making life difficult for opposing states.
- burmanm 6y agoSadly that Twitter thread looks more like the usual conspiracy theory, trying to link multiple "but this looks weird" facts without actual knowledge. The same kind of things used by the opposing side to come up with any of their latest "George Soros controls the world" or other odd theories. A slight double standard in that sense.
- guram11 6y agofriend or foe, there are no forever in politics, when democrat sides with China, Russia will cut into the republic, America still stands divided
- underseacables 6y agoDoes it seem like the more “democracy” is threatened, the more Russia is invoked? From Snowden to now, well this.
- mjevans 6y agoDemocracy works best when critical thinking skills and public disclosure of information co-operate. Better understanding why people believe in the conspiracy theories and fixing the social ills that radicalize portions of the population will be critical factors during my entire adult lifetime. For the US, and for the world at large. We need to learn how to prevent terrorists from being created and in so doing advance as a global society.
- hyko 6y agoWell the first order of business in protecting democracy is to crush the terrorists head on. Doesn’t really matter what their back story is. You must confront the terrorist first, and win. You’re not going to win the long game by losing the short one.
- rebuilder 6y agoI was going to say the exact opposite. Well, almost. You do need some action against the most radicalised, violent elements. Goal #1 of a radical organisation: create a division. Your narrative is that you represent a downtrodden demographic - "us" - whose misfortune is caused by those in power - "them". Goal #2: invite hatred and repression The worst thing that can happen for you is for your division to dissolve. You have to work to make membership in your "us" group a stain on its perceived members. Example: Islamic terrorism. Only a small group of radicals is actually involved in operations, but because they are so deliberately monstrous, and constantly claim to represent all Muslims (factionalism notwithstanding), the stain of their deeds gets spread on all Muslims. This drives a wedge between "Muslims" and "non-Muslims", eventually making that the #1 defining identity for any given Muslim. The worse the atrocities e.g. ISIS commits in, say, the EU, the louder the voices that demand society be protected against islamic radicalism get. People start to demand that Muslims take responsibility for stopping violence committed by "their" brethren. Muslims start to lose standing in society. This breeds resentment, and reinforces the ISIS message that Muslims are a repressed group who need to fight back. This increases radicalisation, which increases violence, which increases repression, which increases resentment. By deliberately being monstrous, a radical group can leverage a society's self-defense mechanisms as a recruitment aid. So I'm sceptical of hard-line solutions to these kinds of problems. They seem more likely to make things worse than better. What should be done, then? I sure don't know, but some things I think should be considered: 1: Do not acknowledge the division. Certainly do not reinforce it. It is an illusion that serves the radicals. 2:Fix the root causes. The radicals' goals are irrelevant. There's no Muslim majority fervently longing for a Caliphate. There's no widespread desire for a whites-only USA among the white conservative-leaning population. What people care about is food on the table, opportunities to progress in life and better their lot, and not being singled out for ridicule and punishment day in, day out. It's the economy. When the economic prospects for large demographics tank, bad things start to happen. 3. Hope for the best. It may take a generation to see meaningful improvement in quality of life for the disaffected population under risk of radicalisation. In the mean time, the political apparatus needs to stay afloat long enough to see those results.
- heshiebee 6y agoI’m not sure where all this hate on parler is coming from. While Twitter allowed the trending of #AssassinateTrump and #killtrump plus all the violence and destruction orchestrated on Twitter during the BLM protests on hundreds of small businesses in America where far more damage and fatalities occurred then the capital riots and big tech especially Apple, Amazon and Facebook were quite about. This is a collaboration against conservatives and the greatest form of censorship America has ever experienced. This is how democracy dies.
- threeseed 6y ago1. 99.9% of posts about #KillTrump are from conservatives complaining about the keyword. And even back when it was trending at no point was there a specific threat. Whereas Trump and Guiliani were in DC, in front of the Capitol building and directly inciting the attendees. That's the difference. 2. Plenty of conservatives right now on Twitter, Facebook etc. In fact most of them became well-known through those services. Just those who have continued to incite people have been banned (after having been warned on multiple ocassions).
- AWildC182 6y ago> far more damage and fatalities Name the fatalities from BLM activities.
- PixyMisa 6y agoHow many do you want? Because there have been dozens of murders, even entirely setting aside accidental and incidental deaths.
- plugger 6y ago> 5 in one event?
- AWildC182 6y agoThe official number for 2020 appears to be 25 (not including last week), however conservatives seem very interested in representing this as a list of "people BLM murdered" when it's really a list of all deaths due to political violence. It includes people who were killed by police, individuals murdered by far right individuals, and that one guy shot by a left wing extremist at a protest.
- mzs 6y agoFWIW we don't know where it's hosted now, that's the point of DDoS-Guard, and the Reuters article makes no claim the site is 'hosted by Russia.'
- lathiat 6y agoWaiting for the first e-mail or API call out of the service to reveal it's location :)
- dhnajsjdnd 6y agoThis reminds me of the recent attempt to blame TeamCity for the Solarwinds hack, because TeamCity’s CEO is Russian [0]. A disturbing trend in journalism, IMO. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/russia-cyber-hack.amp.html https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/p...
- mzs 6y agoSomeone changed this HN post title now to "Parler partially reappears with support from Russian technology firm" which is both true and what the Reuters headline originally was.
- olivermarks 6y agoFirst line: 'Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right' Parler is/was essentially a free speech libertarian site with strict rules and guidelines for posts. I find it disturbing that the overwhelmingly US neo conservative liberal media companies slap the label 'far right' on just abut anything that doesn't fit their world view and agenda. Any sort of recognition there are center right or moderate conservatives appears to have been cancelled. Regarding extremists, It's the old story - ban it and it will go underground. Free speech is always better and is also a cornerstone of western democracy. The irony of Parler having to be hosted in fascist Russia is extreme and embarrassing for the western world.
- hobs 6y agoStrict rules and guidelines that were apparently violated, and they took no action to resolve - this is a paper thin excuse that no one should repeat.
- medntech 6y agoThis comment isn't helpful. Could you support it with instances of when they took action versus when they didn't? Currently, you only posted your opinion.
- olivermarks 6y agoI can only post my opinion. Although I did join Parler and explored it this summer I haven't followed it closely or used it much. I did read their terms and conditions. What I do know is that Facebook played a far larger role in the organization of the #stopthesteal demonstrations and the associated capitol security failures earlier this month but have received no sanctions. https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/01/18/facebook-sheryl-sandberg-capitol-riots.cnnbusiness https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/01/18/facebook-sher...
- uuoc 6y ago> I find it disturbing that the overwhelmingly US neo conservative liberal media companies slap the label 'far right' on just abut anything that doesn't fit their world view and agenda. Any sort of recognition there are center right or moderate conservatives appears to have been cancelled. This is because "far right" has become a code-word for "neo-nazi" and/or "white supremacist/racist", so labeling everything that does no fit their preferred world view as "far right" automatically sets it up to be something so obscene that it should be banned in the minds of their viewership. And of course, what you see is the beginning of the banning happening right before your eyes.
- hyko 6y agoParler is basically irrelevant at this point. Anyone can stand something up on the internet, but without mainstream technical and legal support it is politically dead. The most influence it will exert is in mainstream news articles about its fate, and opinion pieces about free speech from American philosophy majors.
- mey 6y agohttps://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/01/hamas-may-be-threat-to-8chan-qanon-online/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/01/hamas-may-be-threat-to-8... ddos-guard is interesting
- zczc 6y ago"The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Gilmore https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Gilmore
- CathedralBorrow 6y agoRegardless of hosting, Parler seems to be dead in the water given how much of the Internet is accessed via mobile devices, and Parler being banned from all (both) major app stores.
- neartheplain 6y agoWeb apps still exist, and can be installed to the Android/iOS home screen. Sites like Gab which are banned from major app stores are designed to be used this way. When I use Twitter or Facebook, I do so exclusively via Chrome on mobile. I want to give adtech companies as few native hooks as possible into my smartphone.
- CathedralBorrow 6y agoThey definitely exist, and can be installed to home screens. It is however a huge hurdle to user acquisition, which is the angle I was referring to. The obscurity of Gab kind of supports that point. All kinds of products and services can exist, but if you get booted of all the main channels you are doomed to be an obscure niche at best.
- neartheplain 6y agoMaybe. That said, Gab just added 3 million users in 12 days: https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1351448855422799874 https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1351448855422799874 I created an account out of curiosity, and three of the default “Suggested Groups” were for QAnon conspiracy believers. One group has over 100k followers.