Parler, Newsmax, and OANN App Downloads Tumble After November Spike
But many of the apps report consistent gains in engagement
Following the November election, millions of Trump supporters claimed to have jumped ship for “free speech” platforms after Facebook removed several large conservative groups. These alternative apps—Parler, MeWe, Rumble, and those of far-right media outlets Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN)—reported massive spikes in user growth throughout November. Now that momentum has stalled, with, for example, almost nine times fewer daily Newsmax app downloads in December than in November.
Data from analytics company Apptopia suggests that the surge was temporary, and each platform has witnessed a precipitous drop in app downloads since the middle of November. The trend speaks to the challenges of fringe communities to establish their own ecosystems online as they are increasingly pushed out of more moderated mainstream platforms. It also puts into question the viability of platforms like Parler, which proudly bills itself as the “premier free speech social network.” According to a recent OneZero story, some of Parler’s new users seem disenchanted with the platform.
Much of the migration toward these platforms was seemingly sparked by Facebook removing a 300,000-person “Stop the…
