Social network Parler relaunches with help of Russian web hosting provider
All the problems that the social network Parler has experienced after the riot at the Capitol Building will be solved, said its founder John Matze, adding that Parler would "solve any challenge" and "welcomes users again."
So far, only Matze‘s message appears on the page of the social network. Its apps are not available in the App Store and Google Play.
According to open data, Parler's website is now hosted on the servers of the Russian company ddos-guard.net. DDOS-GUARD is based in Rostov-on-Don and provides services to protect websites from DDoS attacks, Idel.Realii reports.
Meanwhile, the media report that people who support "far right" movements are investing in Parler.
According to the Wall Street Journal, among them is Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of the hedge fund manager Robert Mercer.
In November, Matze explained in an interview a surge in subscribers by people's fatigue from censorship by prominent Silicon Valley competitors. Parler's supporters believe the attack on the Capitol was planned through Facebook.
Matze is married to a Russian woman. Their wedding took place in Kazan. For some time Metze lived in Russia. He launched Parler immediately after returning to the U.S.
Matze's wife is 30-year-old Alina Mukhutdinova. She studied to be a lawyer at Kazan Federal University. The last time she came to visit her parents was in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic.
She most likely met her husband in the spring of 2016, when she was vacationing in the United States. They married on December 12, 2017.
Judging by the VKontakte posts of Alina’s mother, the couple's wedding took place in Kazan. Metze returned to the United States only in July 2018. The couple have a daughter.
In a comment to Idel.Realii, Bharat Ganesh of the University of Oxford, said there was no evidence that the Parler network was directly linked to Russia. However, it is known that the Mercer family was involved in supporting Parler, like other "alternative technology" platforms.
"I do expect that agencies similar to the Russian Internet Research Agency (which is also called in the press and other sources as "troll factory," "Prigozhin’s trolls," "Olgin trolls," "Kremlinbots") will start using Parler as another chennel to spread misinformation and engage in manipulation on social media," he said.