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Salon
Salon
Politics
Brad Reed

Kanye West to buy far-right Parler

Rapper Kanye West speaks during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 11, 2018. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump-supporting rapper Kanye West has come up with a solution to his recent suspensions from both Twitter and Instagram.

In a press release issued Monday morning, Parler announced that West would be acquiring the company for an undisclosed sum.

In justifying his purchase of Parler, West said that his goal was to defend conservatives' "free speech" rights from the tyranny of big tech.

"In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves," he said.

In fact, West got suspended from Twitter and Instagram not for posting any traditionally "conservative" opinion, but for posting anti-Semitic rants targeting the Jewish community.

"I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE," West wrote in one post. "The funny thing is I actually can't be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."

Parler is one of many right-wing social media apps intended to be a counter to Twitter, although so far it has failed to gain significant market success.

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