Report: Mohammed bin Salman Tried to Buy Parler, Demanded Ability to Monitor 'Extremist' Accounts

Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Mar. 02, 2021

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attempted to buy Parler in June 2019 and flew ex-CEO John Matze to Riyadh for negotiations, according to Palestinian activist Iyad el-Baghdadi.

The move allegedly came after Twitter banned a host of "Saudi disinfo accounts" for "state-sponsored manipulation."

Parler was swamped with some 200,000 Saudi accounts "practically overnight" and MBS then tried to buy the site, according to el-Baghdadi.

THE NEWS: Today I'd like to reveal that MBS tried in June 2019 to purchase US right-wing social media platform Parler. His bid was serious enough that his consultants flew Parler founder & ex-CEO John Matze to Riyadh for negotiations.
— İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي (@iyad_elbaghdadi) March 2, 2021

MBS's consultants made certain requests of Matze, including ability to peer into accounts they deem "extremist", and insisted that accounts be registered by SMS + phone number, not through mobile verification.
— İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي (@iyad_elbaghdadi) March 2, 2021

When I signed up for Parler in Nov 2020, SMS + phone number was the requirement.

The negotiations continued for a number of months. To his credit, John Matze was wondering whether the Saudis represented "American values" in light of the Khashoggi murder. I do not know if the deal proceeded past November 2019.
— İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي (@iyad_elbaghdadi) March 2, 2021

SUMMARY: MBS made a serious bid to purchase the same right-wing platform that was used as a staging ground for the Jan 6 attack on US democracy. He also wanted the platform to weaken its features to allow him to spy on its users. How far these talks went needs to be investigated.
— İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي (@iyad_elbaghdadi) March 2, 2021

KEY: I want to stress that to his credit, John Matze recognized that the Khashoggi murder meant that MBS and the Saudi regime cannot and do not align with American values. For this reason I would be surprised if anything happened after November 2019.
— İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي (@iyad_elbaghdadi) March 2, 2021

Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal invested $300 million into Twitter back in 2011, giving him a larger stake in the company (5.2%) at the time than Jack Dorsey (3.2%).

bin Talal was taken hostage by MBS along with other members of the royal family and likely had his assets seized back in 2018.

Parler has been funded by the billionaire Mercers, who ousted Matze after Parler was deplatformed by Big Tech in retaliation for the Capitol protest.

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