(FreedomBeacon.com)- Conservative commentator Dan Bongino, who is a co-owner of alternative social media website Parler, pushed back against claims made by the platform’s former CEO this week.
It follows claims by former CEO John Matze that he was terminated by the Parler board despite his “strong belief in free speech.” Bongino claims that while Matze was terminated by the board, his version of events is not correct.
“It’s time to correct the record. The Parler CEO John Matze, he was terminated by the board of Parler, but the story you’re hearing unfortunately is not correct,” he said.
Matze claimed that the Parler board “controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO.”
Parler hit the news in January after Google and Apple both chose to remove the platform from its app stores, following the Capitol Hill riots on January 6. The tech companies accused the platform of providing a place for violent rioters to organizer, while failing to acknowledge how rioters also organized on Twitter and other social media networks.
Following the app store withdrawal, the Parler website was also taken down after Amazon revoked access to its Amazon Web Services servers.
It ultimately resulted in Matze’s firing, prompting him to tell supporters that he was met with “constant resistance” to his product vision for Parler, “strong belief in free speech,” and his view on how the company should be managed.
“For example, I advocated for more product stability and what I believe is a more effective approach to content moderation,” he claimed.
But Bongino said otherwise.
“Here’s the real story, so you have it and don’t believe the hype,” he said, before disagreeing with Matze’s claim of being met with opposition to his belief in free speech.
“Folks, that’s not accurate, those are his statements not mine. I have no personal gripe against John, the CEO, at all. I want to be crystal clear, but John decided to make this public, not us, we were handling it like gentleman,” he added.
Bongino explained how Matze oversaw some “really bad decisions” and that he is committed to maintaining Parler’s vision of protecting free speech online.
The tech investors and conservative author also explained how Parler might have already been back up and running if they had simply caved to Silicon Valley – but that they refuse to do that.
Parler will reportedly be back online soon, with Bongino claiming on Friday that the platform could be available at least in its website form by Monday.
