Parler is a Russian op! (tired of only right-wing conspiracy theories?)

[UNCjigga]

Here's a fun Twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1327253991936454663

Essentially, a TEDx "disinformation specialist" contends that Parler founder John Matze met and fell for a Russian asset, Alina Mukhutdinova, in 2016. Alina just happens to be a big fan of "The Amerikans" TV show about Russian sleeper agents! Alina's mom is well-connected and appears to have had the Soviet version of "Order of the British Empire". John and Alina get married in Russia, spend a few months in Russia/Europe and then return to the US early in 2018--John starts Parler shortly afterward. Nobody pays attention for 5 months, and then all of a sudden they get flooded with conservative Twitter rejects. Parler soon starts working with GOP operatives and Trump-connected marketers to build a conservative userbase.

The listed owners of Parler are Matze and "NDMASCENDANT LLC", a non-descript Delaware shell company setup by Greenberg Traurig (Giuliani's former firm--Rudy just happened to be in Russia when the paperwork was filed!) No one has yet figured out who or what NDMASCENDANT represents. No public funding record of any kind. Parler lists Dan Bongino and some cryptocurrency guy as their principal investors, but they likely wouldn't have the capital to fund Parler alone. When FOX News posted rumors that Soros was behind Parler (lolwhut?) Bongino then claimed to be the actual owner? But where is the money really coming from? Why do they seem to be connected to Epoch Times/Falun Gong?

Troy contends, "it doesn’t add up. Non-descript tech bro randomly meets ostensible Russian honeypot, travels to Russia, marries her, then returns to US to start a whacko social network with explicit political aims, in partnership with Russia aligned ops? Uh, ok."

Now here's my take on it. Parler/NDMASCENDANT are not directly controlled by Russia (but may have been funded by Russians.) I believe Parler is the cornerstone of Trump's future Digital Media Empire. The Trumps own it/control it!!!

Take that QAnon! Our conspiracy shit is so much better than yours!!!

 

[KMFJD]

This has been making the rounds online and Bongino is not happy

 

[IronWing]

I don’t understand the need for big bucks to start a social media platform. Buy instances on AWS and only spin up as fast as ad revenue comes in.

 

[DaaQ]

I don’t understand the need for big bucks to start a social media platform. Buy instances on AWS and only spin up as fast as ad revenue comes in.

That's called "Losing" not "Winning"!

 

[brandonbull]

I don’t understand the need for big bucks to start a social media platform. Buy instances on AWS and only spin up as fast as ad revenue comes in.

Sounds simple enough that anyone could do it. Not like it would take specialized software, data engineering and networking to support a social media platform. PHP server + Access database = profit.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Who cares, they'd rather be Russians than democrats, they even got a nifty t-shirt

 

[cytg111]

I don’t understand the need for big bucks to start a social media platform. Buy instances on AWS and only spin up as fast as ad revenue comes in.

404 Brains Not Found.
Thats why. But yea 100%.

 

[cytg111]

Sounds simple enough that anyone could do it. Not like it would take specialized software, data engineering and networking to support a social media platform. PHP server + Access database = profit.

open source twitter clone - Google Search

Your issue with a new twitter is adaptation marketing pr and viral content.
Nice try though

 

[dank69]

More data supporting the theory that this is not just a conspiracy theory:

https://imgur.com/a/OBWtcco

 

[Commodus]

Right now the claims are enough to raise eyebrows, but not what I'd call definitive (even with those early users). You'd need to show that Parler knowingly allowed or invited those Russia-aligned ops and trace those company connections.

To be clear, I'm not ruling it out — I just want any allegations to have a solid foundation, especially after a flurry of bogus conspiracies from the Trump camp.

 

[Jhhnn]

It's apparently financed by the Mercers, Bannon's friends from 2016-

Social app Parler apparently receives funding from the conservative Mercer family

Parler turned into a home for conservatives’ protests against the election

www.theverge.com

They also sponsored Cambridge Analytica who mined data from leaked Facebook files for the Trump campaign, also provided analysis to Nigel Farage for Brexit. But now they're against data mining, honest. You betcha.

 

[zinfamous]

More data supporting the theory that this is not just a conspiracy theory:

https://imgur.com/a/OBWtcco

Jackie Treehorn Productions? lol

 

[darkswordsman17]

Right now the claims are enough to raise eyebrows, but not what I'd call definitive (even with those early users). You'd need to show that Parler knowingly allowed or invited those Russia-aligned ops and trace those company connections.

To be clear, I'm not ruling it out — I just want any allegations to have a solid foundation, especially after a flurry of bogus conspiracies from the Trump camp.

Ok, at some point some of you need to stop playing dumb, right?

 

[Commodus]

Ok, at some point some of you need to stop playing dumb, right?

I'm not playing dumb -- I just don't want to be guilty of what modern US conservatives often do and cling to theories that have shaky claims. We should believe something because we have the full weight of evidence behind us. Now, the Bannon stuff was shared after I posted... that gives it more weight.

 

[Greenman]

What if the whole thing backfires and the Russian mind benders are slowly converted into republican's, then Trump is elected president of Russia and want's to become the 51st state?
The US would then become the worlds first and only super-duper power, and focus all of it resources on building a wall between Russia and China.
The mind boggles.

 

[Perknose]

What if the whole thing backfires and the Russian mind benders are slowly converted into republican's, then Trump is elected president of Russia and want's to become the 51st state?

Dude. We have enough Red States as it is.

 

[sdifox]

What if the whole thing backfires and the Russian mind benders are slowly converted into republican's, then Trump is elected president of Russia and want's to become the 51st state?
The US would then become the worlds first and only super-duper power, and focus all of it resources on building a wall between Russia and China.
The mind boggles.

Don't stand near a window.

 

[NTMBK]

What if the whole thing backfires and the Russian mind benders are slowly converted into republican's, then Trump is elected president of Russia and want's to become the 51st state?
The US would then become the worlds first and only super-duper power, and focus all of it resources on building a wall between Russia and China.
The mind boggles.

Then once Denmark sells Greenland to Trump, they can encircle the Arctic! It all fits!

 

[cytg111]

So at least you know who your enemies are by now ... Its Putins Russia and Americans that would rather be Russians. And the Ruperts. Lets not forget the Ruperts.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I'm not playing dumb -- I just don't want to be guilty of what modern US conservatives often do and cling to theories that have shaky claims. We should believe something because we have the full weight of evidence behind us. Now, the Bannon stuff was shared after I posted... that gives it more weight.

So, you're just actually dumb then? I'm not kidding at all either. Your attitude blows my mind. Not that I should be surprised as I've on multiple occasions shown that the Republican party got in with Russia in a big way before Turmp ever even came along and I got basically crickets while some of you act like you still can't believe that Russia's been infiltrating social media. Like I said, at some point you're going to have to stop playing at being stupid. I know you're not actually stupid. But if you keep calling pretty blatantly obvious shit as "theories that have shaky claims" then I don't know what to say. What's it going to take to get you to actually realize what's been happening? I get that quarantine is fucking with people's heads but goddamn.

No wonder it took America nearly 250 years to go "yeah we've been treating blacks and non-whites like complete garbage". And its only half of America that even seems to have gotten that far.

You know what? We're fucked. Completely fucked. If someone as intelligent as you are, is still waffling about what has been happening, then we're straight fucked.

 

[vi edit]

So, you're just actually dumb then? I'm not kidding at all either. Your attitude blows my mind. Not that I should be surprised as I've on multiple occasions shown that the Republican party got in with Russia in a big way before Turmp ever even came along and I got basically crickets while some of you act like you still can't believe that Russia's been infiltrating social media. Like I said, at some point you're going to have to stop playing at being stupid. I know you're not actually stupid. But if you keep calling pretty blatantly obvious shit as "theories that have shaky claims" then I don't know what to say. What's it going to take to get you to actually realize what's been happening? I get that quarantine is fucking with people's heads but goddamn.

No wonder it took America nearly 250 years to go "yeah we've been treating blacks and non-whites like complete garbage". And its only half of America that even seems to have gotten that far.

You know what? We're fucked. Completely fucked. If someone as intelligent as you are, is still waffling about what has been happening, then we're straight fucked.

He wanted to get a bit more confirmation before making an opinion. If we all went out and started acting on initial thoughts and feelings then well...we'd all be deplorables. Don't shit on someone who wants to make sure they are making the right assumption before judging.

 

[Commodus]

So, you're just actually dumb then? I'm not kidding at all either. Your attitude blows my mind. Not that I should be surprised as I've on multiple occasions shown that the Republican party got in with Russia in a big way before Turmp ever even came along and I got basically crickets while some of you act like you still can't believe that Russia's been infiltrating social media. Like I said, at some point you're going to have to stop playing at being stupid. I know you're not actually stupid. But if you keep calling pretty blatantly obvious shit as "theories that have shaky claims" then I don't know what to say. What's it going to take to get you to actually realize what's been happening? I get that quarantine is fucking with people's heads but goddamn.

No wonder it took America nearly 250 years to go "yeah we've been treating blacks and non-whites like complete garbage". And its only half of America that even seems to have gotten that far.

You know what? We're fucked. Completely fucked. If someone as intelligent as you are, is still waffling about what has been happening, then we're straight fucked.

Er, no. You're putting words in my mouth and resorting to childish attacks. Please stop that.

There are certainly lots of eyebrow-raising elements here. Could things play out exactly as Troy has described? Absolutely -- he's not making far-fetched allegations, and he's doing his homework.

My concern is that he's making a bunch of short but important logical leaps (logical hops?) that I wouldn't make if I wanted an airtight case. Assumptions about what Alina was up to, that Parler was explicitly created for Russian ops, that sort of thing. It's almost there, but if I were going to hurl this at someone in a national security action, I'd need better than almost.

I know Russia has been waging a disinformation and division campaign against the US, and that it favors using conservatives as its pawns. I just want to be sure we don't make assumptions that something is completely true when there are still a few gaps to fill. You can say "this looks highly suspicious, and we should be wary of Parler's aims;" I think it's a stretch to argue that it's a completely settled case.

 

[nickqt]

Parler is like every other platform Conservatives flock to: a way to take the rubes money.

That's it. The rubes fucking love getting their pockets picked by their thought leaders and their elected representatives.

 

[Jhhnn]

Er, no. You're putting words in my mouth and resorting to childish attacks. Please stop that.

There are certainly lots of eyebrow-raising elements here. Could things play out exactly as Troy has described? Absolutely -- he's not making far-fetched allegations, and he's doing his homework.

My concern is that he's making a bunch of short but important logical leaps (logical hops?) that I wouldn't make if I wanted an airtight case. Assumptions about what Alina was up to, that Parler was explicitly created for Russian ops, that sort of thing. It's almost there, but if I were going to hurl this at someone in a national security action, I'd need better than almost.

I know Russia has been waging a disinformation and division campaign against the US, and that it favors using conservatives as its pawns. I just want to be sure we don't make assumptions that something is completely true when there are still a few gaps to fill. You can say "this looks highly suspicious, and we should be wary of Parler's aims;" I think it's a stretch to argue that it's a completely settled case.

If Parler isn't a creation of Russian psyops then it's perfectly clear it's wide open to their exploitation. That appears to be a feature, not a bug. Both Facebook & Twitter have become more vigilant so as not to be unwittingly complicit to their efforts as in 2016. It's not like the Mercers are babes in the woods, either.

 

[Stokely]

If I was still on Friendface I'd welcome Parler as it might clean up the joint.

All social media is brain-rotting crap and we are all worse off as societies (and I'd argue as individuals) for it. But hey all I can stop is my own usage.

There's a documentary out there featuring some ex-FB engineers that talks about the algorithms they used and how they prey on us. It reminds me of the flavor scientists working for all the crap food companies, and lo we continue to expand like a bunch of michelin men. Trying to withstand this stuff is almost impossible. If you are "on" FB or twatter, try stopping for a week, it was pretty eye-opening when I stopped using it.

And no, I don't consider moderated forums in the same ballpark (though there are some similarities!)