Kanye West to buy rightwing social network Parler

Kanye West is buying the rightwing social network Parler for an undisclosed sum, the site has announced.

The purchase by the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

The social network was founded in 2018 by John Matze and Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of the billionaire hedge fund manager and Breitbart co-owner Robert Mercer. But the fact many of those who carried out the 6 January storming of the US Capitol used the site led to the ousting of Matze and his replacement in May 2021 by Farmer.

In the aftermath of the attack on the US Capitol, Parler was removed from the Apple and Google app stores, and on 10 January went offline entirely after Amazon Web Services pulled its account.