Microblogging and social media app Parler has ousted its chief executive officer, John Matze in a move by the company's board that he learned about after he read a memo sent to some employees and other third parties.
The app, which had been widely embraced by Trump supporters and right-wing extremists, recently went down after Amazon Web Services terminated its account for failing to moderate "egregious content" related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol building.
"On Jan. 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler. I did not participate in this decision," Matze said in a post on social media.
Matze said that he was forced to make a public statement after he had learned of his termination from other sources instead of the company's board.
In past posts, Matze said that he had been met with "constant resistance" within the company regarding his original vision for the social media platform. He said that he still strongly believed in free speech and advocated for new ways to more effectively moderate content on the site.
In his recent post, Matze said that he had worked and fought for the platform to get it to where it is now. However, he said that the future of the company is now no longer in his hands.
"I want to thank the Parler employees, the people on Parler and Parler supporters for their tireless work and devotion to the company. They are an amazing group of diverse, hardworking and talented individuals and I have the utmost respect for them. Many of them have become my second family," Matze said in his post.
Parler previously said that it would re-launch the social media platform this month after it was shut down by Amazon. Sources with knowledge in the matter said that the planned launch was delayed due to the new branding and site changes aimed at ensuring stability.
Following the U.S. Capitol riot earlier last month, Parler became the center of controversy given its role in promoting conspiracy theories and right-wing extremism. After Amazon shut it down, Google and Apple announced that they would be removing the app from their respective app stores.
