By: V4 Agency
While the ‘conservative’ Parler platform was blamed for Capitol riots and incitement to violence, it has turned out that most demonstrators organised on Twitter. Meanwhile, divisions growing deeper, with some envisioning a split of the US into two.
Federal authorities say the attack on the Capitol on 6 January was organised and coordinated in part on Twitter. The Associated Press (AP) wrote that both defence and National Guard officials were aware that a demonstration would take place in Washington. There was activity to this effect on the internet in general, as well as on Twitter, but officials had not expected events to deteriorate the way they ultimately did.
The news is worth noting because, until now the social media site Parler, which served as an alternative platform for conservative voices, was being blamed and made a scapegoat in inciting the violence. Parler has been banned from big tech company app stores and is now denied cloud hosting by Amazon Web Services. Parler CEO Glenn Greenwald says the platform may never return to the online space.
Greenwald spoke on Fox TV of how Parler was blamed as a primary catalyst of violence. The journalist and former civil rights lawyer said that much of the planning for the protest took place not on Parler, but on the tech giants’ platforms. He also pointed out that the FBI arrested 13 people in connection with the storming of the Capitol, none of whom were Parler users.
Greenwald said much of the organising and rallying took place on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter. The journalist also noted the particular fact that Google has banned Parler while Google’s own YouTube played a much greater role in the rioting.
Tensions do not seem to ease in the United States. Although Donald Trump has only a few days left in office as president, he has been impeached again. Americans are bitterly divided over political issues and the severity of division is shown by the results of two polls.
The Blaze has launched a vote on social media, asking whether Americans can still have meaningful conversations about politics on Twitter. The vote has not ended yet, but results reached so far show that an overwhelming majority of respondents say people can no longer engage in level-headed debates on politics.
A new Just The News poll on a representative sample reveals how bitter political divides are in the United States. People were asked if they would support a proposal to split the United States into separate red and blue states, giving Democrats and Republicans their separate states and countries.
The results are striking; about a quarter of Americans are in favour of splitting America into separate countries. Out of these respondents, 11 per cent would strongly favour while 14 per cent would somewhat favour a separation. Although a solid majority would oppose a split, it is not insignificant that a quarter of the population would support such a crucial move.