Who is Rebekah Mercer? The woman behind Parler, who wants to 'protect liberty and fight tech tyrants'
There has been a lot of discussion during the elections regarding social media censorship. Many had complained that their tweets or posts were flagged. Amid all this, a lot of conservatives were seen advising their followers to join the Republican-backed social networking platform, Parler.
The social media platform was launched in August 2018 and regarded as an alternative to Twitter. Users post “Parleys” (similar to tweets) that can be commented on, “echoed” (like retweets), and voted on (similar to Twitter's like feature). The social media network is available on the web as well as the App Store for iOS users and the Play Store for Android users. The platform presented itself as a place where no one would be banned, have their content taken down, or even experience brief suspension for posting questionable content. Parler soon gained prominence with President Donald Trump's supporters as it started hosting Twitter-banned icons of the alt-right.
It was founded in 2018 by two men based in Henderson, Nevada—John Matze and Jared Thomson. Matze is the CEO of the company. Conservative commentator Dan Bongino announced a partnership with Parler in June 2020, taking an ownership stake in the company. He said, "I’ve decided it’s time to fight back against the Tech Tyrants. I’m beyond fed up with the censorship and bias of Twitter and Facebook and I’m not going to stand back and watch as they target us. As a result, I’ve taken an ownership stake in Parler, the hottest social media alternative in the market right now."
Now, it is reported by CNN that Rebekah Mercer, a well-known conservative donor, revealed on Saturday, November 14, that she is helping to bankroll Parler. In a statement, she said, “John and I started Parler to provide a neutral platform for free speech, as our founders intended, and also to create a social media environment that would protect data privacy. The ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords demands that someone lead the fight against data mining, and for the protection of free speech online. That someone is Parler, a beacon to all who value their liberty, free speech, and personal privacy."
Who is Rebekah Mercer?
She is the daughter of Robert Mercer, a hedge fund manager and was associated with the now-non-operational political data-analysis firm Cambridge Analytica. As per Washington Post, Rebekah studied biology and math at Stanford and earned a master’s degree there in management science and engineering.
As per the CNN report, Rebekah is a member of the Heritage Foundation board of trustees. The family was in the spotlight in national politics in the 2016 election cycle when Robert Mercer and his wife Diane, donated more than $23 million to groups that backed conservative candidates, according to a tally by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, as mentioned in the CNN report.
In that election, the Mercers backed a super PAC that initially supported Texas Senator Ted Cruz's bid for the Republican presidential nomination before giving its support to Donald Trump. Rebekah is described as media-shy and reportedly she apparently persuaded then-candidate Trump to reorganization his campaign group and hire Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway to help run his presidential bid in the final stretch of the 2016 election. She went on to serve on the executive committee of Trump's transition team.
A Washington Post report in 2018 states, after the book by journalist Michael Wolff, ‘Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’ included provocative comments by Bannon about the president and about Trump's family, Rebekah had issued a statement, “I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected. My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements.”
