The singer announced on Monday his intention to acquire this social network created in 2018 and intended for American ultra -operators.
Le Monde with AFP
The singer Kanye West, who recently changed his name for Ye, announced on Monday October 17 his intention to buy the ultra -conservative social network speaking, launched in 2018. “This acquisition guarantees that speaking will play a role in the creation of An ecosystem that cannot be censored, and in which all the voices are welcome “, wrote the company in a press release. The amount of the transaction, which must be concluded by the end of the year, has not been made public.
Speaking was created in 2018 as a “refuge” for the American conservatives considering themselves “censored” on classic social networks. He practices almost no form of moderation, which earned him to be momentarily removed from the online application stores of Google and Apple after the assault of the supporters of Donald Trump against the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Its main shareholder is the heiress of the Mercer family, US ultra -conservative billionaires close to the former adviser to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon.
In mid-September, the company had announced that it has bought a web hosting service provider , in order to control her own infrastructure – she had lost her contract with Amazon Web Services in 2021 causing major disruptions on its network. Speaking had then also announced a restructuring as well as a fundraising of around 16 million euros.
Last week, Kanye West’s accounts on Twitter and Instagram were the subject of partial blocking measures, after the publication of several anti -Semitic messages. The singer, customary of provocations, also went on October 3 to Paris Fashion Week dressed in a T-shirt where “White Lives Matter” was written, diversion of the slogan of the Black Lives Matter movement. One of his main sponsors, Adidas, then announced that he wanted to “reassess” his relationship with the artist. “In a world where conservative opinions are considered controversial, we must make sure that we have the right to express ourselves freely”, said the star in a press release . . .