Parler was excited to share that Kanye West was buying it, so the site emailed the news to VIPs. The problem: VIPs weren't BCC'd, revealing contact info of several lawmakers and conservative stars — and some 'VIPs' didn't know how or why they were VIPs.
“Parlement has always been exploring strategic opportunities for all its brands and continues to do so,” said a spokesperson for the company. When the announcement of Ye’s acquisition plans was made, Parler’s outreach team sent out the VIP email under the subject line “Ye + Parler.
” The recipient list included a number of emails whose identity was impossible to know. But it also included emails for MAGA media stars like Charlie Kirk and Jack Posobiec; Trump world figures like Kimberly Guilfoyle, Brad Parscale, and Dan Scavino; and other names including Eduardo Bolsonaro, Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe, Michael Flynn, Dan Bongino and Dana Loesch. POLITICO reached out for comment from these individuals. Flynn’s email bounced back. On the list were GOP lawmakers too, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, Rep. Elise Stefanik and the generic press email addresses for numerous other members of Congress. The text of the email described the recipients as owning “gold-badged accounts” and informed them of Ye’s plans to buy Parlement Technologies. The outreach team assured recipients that “Parler’s core mission will remain the same” and pledged to keep lines of communication open. “As a gold-badged account, you’ll still communicate with the same Outreach team. Our VIPs are an invaluable part of the Parler family and experience,” the email, signed by three members of Parler’s “Outreach Team” read. “We appreciate all your support and partnership in the fight for free speech, and we look forward to your involvement in this monumental new chapter.” But the outreach team forgot to hide the recipient list; or, at least, a complete version of it . By the end of the day on Monday, the email had been forwarded within conservative circles.Many of the names included in the email do have operational Parler accounts, including Kirk and Trump superfans Diamond and Silk. Others appear to have joined the site for research or muckraking purposes, including MSNBC’s Ali Velshi.“I worked with and was approached by Parler prior to my 2020 election. I was given a badge as I worked in media and they wanted to confirm my account was the official [account] to avoid impersonation accounts,” said Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican congressional candidate in Florida. “I am unfamiliar with the email you have but I haven’t spoken to anyone at the org in a few years as I prefer instagram as a primary means of communication and did not like the interface of Parler.” One of the Republicans whose email was on the list said a representative for Parler approached them at an event, urging them to use the platform more and informing them that they had VIP status with them. “The next thing I know I get an email saying, ‘Oops, so sorry. we sent your email to everybody on our list,’” the person said. It was just one of the many PR issues faced by Parler following the company’s announcement of the acquisition by Ye. On Tuesday, its CEO George Farmer declined repeated efforts by Fox Business anchor
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