App seen as conservative alternative to Twitter has gone dark in aftermath of Capitol riot
The now-silenced Parler app that appeared to have played a key role in mobilizing the Trump-inspired mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 had a greater share of users who are either veterans or in the U.S. military compared with other social media platforms.
Parler also drew more users from states in the South and in the Mountain West — tracking closely with pro-Trump Republican voters in those states — than from other parts of the country. The findings come from research by Disqo, a company based in Glendale, California, that signs up volunteers from among users of social media platforms who allow their online presence to be tracked.
While the overall number of military personnel and veterans on social media sites is small compared with the platforms’ user base, on Parler there was a greater chance of picking a member at random and finding that person to have a military background, said Anne Hunter, vice president of product marketing at Disqo. Continue reading.