Meta Pauses Employee Activity Tracking Program Over Data Security Concerns 
Tencent Reviews Marvelous Stake as Gaming Giant Reassesses Global Investment Strategy 
Cerebras Revenue Forecast Tops Expectations, but Margin Concerns Weigh on Stock 
SK Hynix Targets $29.4 Billion Nasdaq Listing to Expand AI Chip Business 
Pelosi Discloses Major Intel and Uber Call Option Purchases Worth Up to $6 Million 
DOJ Opens Investigation Into NYC Coffee Shop Over Anti-Goldman Social Media Post 
WiseTech Global Denies Knowledge of Investigation Into Founder Richard White 
SK Hynix Moves Closer to New York ADR Listing Amid AI Chip Boom 
SpaceX Stock Rebounds After Sharp Selloff, But Valuation Concerns Persist 
Meta Reportedly Developing ‘Arena’ Prediction Market App to Rival Polymarket and Kalshi 
Bain Capital Nears Deal for Majority Stake in Volkswagen Marine Engine Unit Everllence 
Heineken Names JDE Peet’s CEO Rafael Oliveira as New Chief Executive 
Alibaba Shares Fall After Anthropic Alleges Massive AI Model Distillation Campaign 
Anthropic AI Model Uncovers Vulnerabilities in Classified U.S. Government Systems During Security Test 
Alphabet Replaces Verizon in Dow Jones Industrial Average 
Tesla and NatPower Partner on $5 Billion Battery Storage Expansion in Europe 
Fortescue Faces Class Action Over Sexual Harassment Claims at Australian Mining Sites 
John Matze, the CEO of Parler, the American microblogging and social networking service provider, divulged that the board fired him. He suggested he has been working to restore the site, but he was suddenly booted out behind his back.
Former chief reveals his unceremonious termination
The dismissed chief sent a notice to the staff to inform them about his fate. Fox News was able to obtain the memo, so it was posted for the public.
"On January 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler,” Matze wrote. “I did not participate in this decision.”
The former CEO said that he was eliminated when Parler is just a few days away from being restored. As can be seen in his note, he specifically mentioned that Mercer, a conservative political donor, is currently in control of the company’s board.
Matze also said that in the past few months, due to his vision, beliefs in free speech, and views on how Parler should be managed, he often faced resistance, but he still pushed through. He added that he worked non-stop to get the site back up again but was suddenly kicked out thus, the future of the company is not in his hands anymore.
Parler slammed Matze for the alleged spread of misinformation
A few hours after Matze released his memo, Dan Bongino, a conservative talk-show host and stakeholder in Parler, posted his response via a video that was uploaded on his Facebook. He urged the public not to believe the hype and explained his version of Matze’s ouster.
"Folks, that’s not accurate, those are his statements, not mine,” Bongino said. “I have no personal gripe against John, the CEO, at all, I want to be crystal clear, we were handling it like gentlemen and John, not us, decided somehow to make this public."
He added that Matze was responsible for “really bad decisions” that led to Parler’s removal from Amazon Web Services and issues with the application’s security. Bongino went on to say that they were actually the ones who were fighting to restore Parler.
Bongino’s statements were followed by comments from Amy Peikoff, Parler’s chief policy officer. She shot back at John Matze and blasted him for giving false information.
“Mr. Matze’s characterizations of the events and circumstances surrounding his termination from the Parler CEO position have been inaccurate and misleading,” The New York Times quoted Peikoff as saying. “The owners and managers of the company worked tirelessly to build a resilient, non-partisan platform dedicated to freedom of expression, civil discourse, and user privacy.”
